Hi jwigginsjr,
The first thing I would suggest is to do a little bit of reading on the site.
I would start with this article which will help you avoid most of the traps and pitfalls of mattress shopping and eliminate most of the worst choices. This will help you spend your time focused on the better ones in your area.
There are many different types of foam (memory foam, polyfoam, latex, and now gel foams) as well as other components used in mattresses and each of them are very different. It’s also important to have an idea of how to fit a mattress to your own personal needs and preferences and what to test for when you are lying on mattresses. So the next thing I would do is browse the overviews in the mattresses section of the site to get an idea of the differences between the materials and different types of mattresses and what to look for in terms of how a mattress fits each person for pressure relief, posture and alignment, and preferences for different types of people and sleeping positions. There are also more detailed pages in each section if you need them. They will help you ask better questions and know what to look for and quite frankly most people who scan them will know more than most of the salespeople at the typical chain stores or mass market outlets.
The next step is to identify the better outlets in your area. These are usually the local factory direct manufacturers or smaller sleep shops that carry alternative or local brands. They tend to have the knowledge and skills to help you make your best choices and the mattresses they carry also have better quality and value. When you are dealing with people who “know their stuff” and who care more about helping you find your best choices instead of primarily helping their profit margin, your odds of making a good choice go up dramatically. The more they know the less you have to know.
Post #2 here lists the better outlets that I’m aware of in Austin.
Hope this helps.
Phoenix