I'll second the advice about the fit being important. I've gotten the bug and bought/built a few bikes since I started, but they are all good! There are two approaches: spend as much as you can to get the best because you'll want to upgrade when/if you get hooked. My approach: you have to start somewhere and get experience before you know what features/components would be on your "dream bike". Honestly, both strategies have something to be said for them.

I don't have the experience of some of the folks here, but from what I know, for the brands that you're talking about, road bikes are commoditized -- they're mostly competitive, well designed, and are not going to fall apart (and if they do, you can usually fix them). The only "lemon" that you might get is a bike that doesn't fit you well or is not set up well and discourages you from riding it.

Have fun.