The Kona cottons would be nice. Connecting Threads has a TON of solids at $6/yd - their fabric is beautifully woven and easy to sew. Moda's line of solids is also a beautiful fabric at about $6/yd. The palest neutrals are "Snow" and "Feather," - cream and silver. Check them out for a nice alternative to muslin.
If you're going to be doing a lot of hand piecing or applique, the premium muslin may make you crazy, trying to get a needle through it. Get a smallish sample first and see how you like it.
I'm using premium muslin for some of the blocks in an appliqued top - lots of different W-O-W prints and solid white for the backgrounds. Thank goodness I didn't choose to make the whole top of this premium muslin - it's just as difficult to sew as the heavily painted W-O-W prints.