I've got a similar story. I can't imagine your first bicycle purchase (in a while) being the "right one" so my advice is to buy a couple of used bikes close to what you think you're interested in and ride while you shop.
While I don't recommend it, my Wife and I started on a couple of X-mart bikes the kids had quit using and quickly figured out which direction we wanted to go. (btw we didn't think we wanted road bikes to start with, but that's what we ride now) We didn't shed a tear when we dumped that stock because we didn't have any money in it.
My Wife got the first new bike and I stumbled into a terrific deal on a used bike when another biker decided to upgrade to a high zoot model. This process has saved $$$ which will go into my *next* purchase. ;-)