In the past I paddled aluminum canoes and fiberglass canoes. These days I paddle Royalex canoes just about exclusively. My personal boats are Old Town and Dagger. Mad River canoes are delightful and they make the best paddles on the market, but the boats are a might pricey for me. If you go for the bargain basement models you'll be hauling around a lot more weight than is necessary and you won't have the maneuverability, balance, and long term value that you will if you spend a few more dollars.
Aesthetics count, too.
While I lived in the northwoods of Wisconsin, I met Spencer, a burly guy who lives to paddle. He's arranged his work schedule around his paddling. We were much younger, then. He was high on the Royalex boats, though he has, to this day, a livery of boats that make us lesser men pant with envy. On Spencer's advice, alone, I bought my first Royalex boat, the Old Town Pack that I still paddle today.