Hey Tim.

There aren't too many decent options at that price range. Many of the guys here on BF ride "expensive" bikes and usually have knowledge 'bout such expensive products.

The basic advice anyone on BF will give you is:

A) Get something that fits
B) Do not get full suspension (not worth it if you're under 1000$, really)
C) I'd advise getting a full rigid bike as a suspension fork will be excessively heavy and relatively useless.
D) Stay away from disc brakes. At that price range, they'll suck. V-brakes are good.

A full rigid bike will be faster on the roads than a squish bike. As long as you're not hammering the trails too often, a full rigid will be fine on the trails. Full rigid is fun, at times.