If you ask a question like the OP did, you're bound to get a range of responses.

I wouldn't say I have anything against aluminum, nor particularly care about the bikes' styling, and I can say nothing for the other bikes people have listed off. However, if a person is at all handy, which a person looking to purchase a frame likely is, I think you could do better than buying bikes that exist largely to take advantage of trends (note Giant's claim that the Bowery was designed for professional messengers: something tells me the marketing department cooked that up).

If the OP is willing to a little snooping on Ebay, etc... I think they'd find something that would serve them better in the long run. In many cases I suspect, if the rider will be riding it on the street, that taking a decent-to-nice steel road frame and slapping the appropriate parts on it would leave them happier.