I sort of live in the sticks, so there aren't that many places that even sell computer peripherals, let alone mechanical keyboards. That said, I have gone out of my way to lovingly button smash anything that gets within arm's reach. So far, I have gotten to use one Ducky board, a Shine with MX Blues, and loved it. It was actually what led to buy a Blackwidow, since I failed to appreciate the difference in quality at the time, thinking that spending $130 would protect me from disappointment.
My limited experience with Ducky was so good that I still hold them in high regard, as most do, to this day. Since then, I have only read and heard good things. The reasons I didn't buy a Ducky were simply because 1) I thought macros keys would be useful (I currently use them to do such taxing things as launch Chrome and open Control Panel), 2) I couldn't find a blue LED/Blue switch Ducky board from a major retailer, and 3) I thought buying $300 worth of matching Razer accessories was a good idea.
I just watched a tear-down video of the 9087 "Year of the Dragon." It looks fantastic, and I really like the Cherry stabilizers on the space bar, at least for gaming. For typing, I like my space bar a little more "clackity" and with little resistance, something you probably don't want. I am not a big fan of the DIP switches but only because I had issues with them on an older system I inherited. On a keyboard, they should provide accurate control of what exactly the board does so far as roll-over and Windows-key lock. If it fails, it should be easy enough to replace it.
Between the Shine II and G2 Pro versions, I say I prefer the Shine II. I usually touch type, something I never let my chicken-pecking old man live down. My good natured paternal ribbing aside, there still comes a time (usually at 2-4AM) and place (my dark, internet dungeon of a room) that having the full illumination of my BW is nice. At my worst, I have spent several bleary seconds trying to find the keyboard, let alone the keys, as I recover from my coma to address such important matters as Youtube or facebook. It is at these times that backlighting is worth every extra penny that was bled out from your wallet and, should you find a time that it is less than helpful, you can turn it off.
If you get into keyboard mods, having existing circuitry for LEDs will be a boon. You know, after you desolder every original LED and replace them with white to better backlight the totally manly set of rainbow keycaps I would have bought had my mother not made fun of me.
I guess what I would do is first, try the switches. We are talking about $100+ boards, so I would say that the $8 or so for the sampler from Max Keyboard (the second link) could very well be worth it. I got lucky in that Blues are what I liked, especially considering that I spent my money and then asked questions later, only realizing after a lot of research how little I actually knew. What if I bought my BW, only to find out that I had liked Reds or Blacks more? That would have really sucked, even more than the switches failing after less than a year. If the $8 is an issue, Digikey will sell individual switches, so you could buy one of each Black, Blue, Clear, and Gray (that's what they sell) for like $1.13 or so a pop. If you get really particular, you could even buy a board and replace strategic keys with a different switch that you want.
If you want to just buy a board, try ordering a board with a switch you are curious about (or the Reds you already like) from someplace with a generous returns policy. If you don't like the switch, now you know. Like the switch but not the board? Send it back and find a Ducky. I say this because as great as Ducky boards are, they can be hard to find at times and a lot of the ebay sellers and boutique retailers that so often have these boards are going to balk at return on a perfectly fine board.
You are already doing a better job of informing yourself than I did, and I encourage you to continue. I am only one opinion, regardless of how many letters I have crushed from my boards or how many reviews, tear-downs, and threads I have read. Tom's is a great resource, but there are also sites like geek hack, which has a dedicated mechanical keyboard community from whom I have learned much. Who knows, a month from now you could be opening a box containing an awesome Unicomp board that's just right for you.
Please, ask anything that you think might help you make a decision, just be ready to never be able to use a rubber-dome, WalMart special board again, something I congratulate you on.
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