I agree, you really need to go play with the phones and see which one you like.
ALSO, read reviews online! Verizon store has reviews for phones. Sometimes a phone seems great but then you read reviews and find out the battery stinks or that it breaks right away.
Wish I'd done that with my last phone, but I got in a rush and I trusted the sales guy. It's a hunk of junk and all the reviews say so. (If they're still selling them, don't get an LG "Enact", it's an awful phone - terrible battery life, terrible sound, terrible camera, drops calls...it's really not good at anything.) I'm using my DH's old Samsung now and it's not a very good phone either. (Not sure the model, it's an older phone now, I'm sure they aren't selling it anymore)
My DH has a Motorola Droid X that he really likes. My prior smartphone was also Motorola Droid 2 (older phone, now) and it was a great phone - I literally wore it out or I'd still be using it. Whenever my contract is up and I get a new phone I'm going back to Motorola. They seem to cost a little bit more but so far out of the 5-6 smart phones DH & I have gone through, Motorola has been the best quality and the most reliable.
DH uses a modern Samsung for work, one of the bigger/newer ones (might be the Galaxy). He says it's OK but it's slow; he likes his Droid X better.