Jim,
I have been cycling for over 20 years. I average around 100-150 miles per week on my road bike. I also mountain bike a lot. Just got back from a week in Colorado. Road 7 trails in 6 days and covered 160 miles all off dirt. I have had more bikes than I care to admit and my current bikes cost more than I will ever admit to. I get asked often by people I work with/family/friends about bikes. I'm going to let you in on a little secret I tell all newbies , don't spend money on the name on the frame. A "Trek" can cost $700 or $15,000, so not all "Trek's" are the same. (And by the way all the Trek's are way overpriced for what you get.) In the end you pay for lack of weight with bikes. A 14lb road bike is going to be $10,000 whereas at 28lb road bike is going to be $800. But ultimately the name doesn't matter, it's how the bike is built and what components it has. The big thing you want to look at is frame material (carbon, aluminum, steel). Carbon most expensive but very forgiving and very light. Most all bikes over $3000 will be carbon. Don't know your size either but most carbon stuff does have a weight limit (it's made for skinny racers). Steel is heavier, but forgiving and price ranges greatly depending on frame builder. Really unless you are spending a lot of money I would avoid a "cheap" steel frame. Aluminum probably most common in the price you are likely shopping, it's light but not forgiving and pretty harsh if riding on rough roads/paths. Road noise has a tendency to reverberate through that aluminum frame straight to your rear end. Next you need to look at components. Don't get caught up in how many speeds it has, doesn't matter. Most stuff you will be looking at will have Shimano components. Don't buy less than Shimano 105 if road bike.
https://www.evanscycles.com/coffeestop/advice/shimano-road-groupsets-the-hierarchy/ It's not the lightest (ultegra or dura-ace) but for price it is a good compromise and will last a long time. The Tiagra stuff works but it's heavy and for the slight increase in price jumping to the 105 groupset is worth every penny. Then there's wheels/tires.....oh boy this could get long.
Not knowing anything about you, I suggest you look for a "gravel" bike or what they are calling "endurance" bikes now. Even a cyclocross bike would be good. All these bike will be much lighter and have better components than a "hybrid" bike and have the ability to run various tires sizes based on conditions/comfort level.
Bikes are like boats. They all have pros/cons and you can't find a single boat/bike that will do everything. That's why I have 1 road bike, 2 mountain bikes, an AR210, a fishing kayak, a canoe and a jon boat.
Let me know what price range and what style you are looking and I can point you in the right direction to some good websites where you can get some name brand closeout bikes for 50% off if you don't mind riding a 2015 version. One place to start is
http://www.jensonusa.com/Sale/Complete-Bikes?noidx=1&by=Sale#productgrid and
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/competitivecyclist/sale/Bikes/ccCat100157/cat.html
Good luck!
