A good bike

My family is planning on buying me a bike for Mother's Day. Any suggestions on what kind to get.  some that are better than others?

The hybrid I just got was in the $500 range.  I could have gone less, but I'm putting some good miles on it already and wanted it to hold up.

That being said - this is why I love my local bike shop, and why I'm glad I didn't buy somewhere else:

I had them order a garment bag pannier for me, to accomodate my work suits during my commute.  When I got it, turns out the set up of the bag is such that it didn't fit on my bike rack; the hooks were spaced too far apart.  So I took it back to my shop, they measured the rack, kept the pannier for a couple days.  They drilled a new hole for the back hook, repositioned it, filled the old hole so it's still waterproof, and got it back to me in perfect condition.  For free.  Who else would do that kind of labor on an accessory part, and not charge a dime?