Solid advice in posts #4-6. I don't do gel. Shorts have to work for me. I've had shorts that work in all price ranges and ones that didn't over the same range. It's well worth going and trying them on if you have such bike shops.

Seats - the biggie. They have to work for YOU! Rating mean zero. Two decades ago I switched from the best of one of Italy's seat producers to another line's cheapest last year seat. Huge breakthrough! (I eventually ended back on the high end Italian company's seats, but ones it did for another label under a completely different concept.)