Since you are in Homewood go to either Homewood Cycle or Cahaba Cycle. They will show you what they have and steer you in a direction. IMHO they are good people. There are many good dual sus bikes in the 1500 dollar range.
Pick up some magazines and do some research. I just went for a Klein although it was a toss up with a Fisher.
Are you already a rider of mountain bikes?
Tmax1 in Montevallo