Like the others said, it's really a personal preference. In the 1st 6-7 years of racing, I doubt you'd be at a performance level where the type of frame you have would make much of a difference. I doubt you'd ever have situation where the frame made the difference between finishing 1st or 2nd, or 10th even. We've yet to see any studies that would indicate otherwise.

Check out: http://www.matweb.com for materials properties. And ... refer to these threads:

Steel vs. aluminum
looking for new bike advice
beryllium bikes?
Rivendell makes a good arguement for steel!
What material do you think is best?
So What is the state of carbon and where is it going?
WOW!! Reynolds 953 stainless steel
Can't stop carbon revolution.
Is carbon really stronger than steel?
Best frame material /configuration for climbing?
What's so real about steel?
Steel Bike Choices
materials
What happened to Titanium?
ti vs al
Cannondales too stiff?
If you ride a carbon bike.
Just a tally of frame failures...
steel is real, but...
Steel (ChroMo) vs. Aluminum
Custom ti bikes: round tubes or fancy-pants shaped tubes?
Steel frame weights
A story about carbon forks
When weight doesn't matter, is carbon still better than steel?
Half Carbon/Half Steel frame?
Titanium.......Bastard Step Child?
Anyone ride aluminum..and like it?
carbon vs aluminum
steel bike vs. aluminum ?
6061 aluminum vs. 7005 aluminum
Aluminum: wear out?
Steel vs everything else
Carbon Fiber fragility
How durable is carbon fiber?
Bike Materials of the Future
Pros riding Steel
Carbon v. Ti
steelframes-lugged vs. butted?
TI, Carbon or AL - which is STIFFER ?
Steel vs. Aluminum
Aluminum as frame material - Reached its peak?
carbon fiber bike?
Frame Material
Ti or Carbon for light rider?
Ever Broken Carbon Fiber?
Carbon Bikes
Why are forks often made of different materials from frames?
Ti vs. Carbon
Anyone ride aluminum..and like it?
Steel bikes - Light As You Wanna Be
Flexible Frame?
carbon vs aluminum
What's stronger, a 3lb steel frame, or a 3lb aluminum?
Steel Frame Life
aluminium frame failures-- myth or fact?
Aluminum or Carbon - Which is stiffer?
Steel Bikes
How does Titanium ride?
Steel, Carbon, Aluminium or Titanium Frame??
Ti vs Al vs Steel need help thanks
Why would Alum feel better than Steel?
Carbon Conspiracy....
Is Aluminum stronger than Steel?
If steel is real, then what is carbon fiber?
has anyone seen ti crack?
biased against steel?
tell me about the different frame materials, please.
materials
Titanium or Steel?
Frames made from air hardening alloy
Steel, Aluminum, Titanium, Carbon - What's the difference in the ride!
Full Carbon Bikes
frame materal
Titanium Frames
Aluminum + carbon frames: better ride?
Aluminium, Ti, or Carbon
Good read on frame metallurgy
Steel vs. aluminum w/carbon fork
How much does a frame REALLY matter?
frame material
What kind of materials do you prefer?
steel bike vs. aluminum ?
Titanium vs. Carbon Fiber
Are aluminum bikes THAT uncomfortable?
Alloy vs Carbon
CANNONDALE VS TREK. (the debate begins)
Carbon fiber vs Steel vs Aluminum vs Ti
Titanium vs. Aluminum Frames
Titanium, steel, aluminum, carbon?