Hi mjobtx,
There is certainly a lot of information here and that’s one of the main reasons I wrote the mattress shopping tutorial which has all the most important information, steps, and guidelines all in one place so you can focus on the steps and information that are most important.
In most cases … all you need is “just enough” information to be able to recognize a knowledgeable and experienced manufacturer or retailer that already knows what you would otherwise need to learn and who you deal with can be one of the most important parts of a successful mattress purchase.
Once you get to step 3 in the tutorial if you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area. There is really no substitute for personal experience to decide on the general type of mattresses and materials you tend to prefer and once you have a better sense of this then all the other information will make much more sense. All the written descriptions in the world still won’t tell you what you will “feel” on a mattress or different materials or what you may prefer unless you have a frame of reference based on your own experience.
Phoenix