My suggestion - go to your local shops and see if any have some sort of testing saddles, or if you can bring your bike in and set it up on a trainer to try 20-30 min on a saddle.

...and check the actual width of your sit bones. It makes a big difference.

It's one of the most personalized parts of your bike. Some people like cushioning, some hard leather or carbon, some cutouts, some split, some solid. Everyone on the board could say what works for them, and in general you'll get a wide range that won't necesarilly be useful for you.

That said, personally, I ride the SMP Stryke...first saddle I've ridden where there's no numbness/discomfort and I feel like I can ride all day long. That feeling makes a world of difference in riding.

I got a new saddle this year. An ISM by Blackwell Research.

http://www.trisports.com/blreismadras.html

I find it to be very comfy :D

I bought a Fizik saddle with wing flex, allowing for the saddle to "break in" and take a shape according to your movement.
I did read a lot of reviews before deciding, and I haven't been disappointed at all.
It really depends on how much you are willing to spend, and if you care or not about the weight.
However, it's hard to find out if you are comfortable with the fizik by trying it, as it becomes better with a couple of rides in.

Thanks for all your suggestions! :)

I am willing to spend whatever as long as it is comfortable. There is nothing worse than not wanting to sit down!

I will be going out this weekend to see what I can find!

Yea it would be worth the 250 if you were comfortable. I did a 100 mile ride the other day and boy i wish i would have had something a bit different!

Are there special saddles for females or does it really matter?

I can't remember at the top of my head if they have female ones or not but I can tell you this. My female friend has one and she used it last year on the Race Across America, which lasted 8 days. She was on a tandem team of 4, so she only biked half of the total distance but she loved the seat. She actually just got a new bike and put one of the saddles on there also.

Yes there are, and unfortunately they often make them wider, even though women are naturally wider at the hip...go figure! I have and LOVE the SMP Stryke. I have the men's "cushy" version (a little more narrow than the women's). That race version looks a little too hard and uncomfortable for me, but the width would probably be right. The SMP has made world of a difference for me.

That's the saddle I went from with a lot of padding to the one I'm now using with limited/no padding. I thought padding was what I needed, I guess I was wrong. I did get a professional bike fitting, so that helped get me in to the right position. With a few tweaks here and there we found the perfect spot with this saddle.

I checked, Specialized has women specific saddles and they have 2 other models that have some padding just like the one I have.