Yea there are a bunch of good bikes and CX bikes would be in there. Flatbar roadies and no suspension hybrids would be great too. I like my Marin (see sig) and my wife's
Specialized Sirrus but in looking the Trek 7X00 FX line is VERY nice as well.
Cannondale Road Warrior or
Bad Boy would also bee good choices IMO. Some of these bikes have gearing like a touring bike, some like a road bike, you would have to choose what is best for the type of riding you will be doing but IMO any of them will be better than a MTB.