One thing to remember is that a gun that might be perfect for someone else might not be right for you and vice-versa. You should take a gun safety class. You will learn a lot of things that will make a difference. There are things that are obvious once you think about them but one might not think about — for example, if you have really big hands, some of the smaller handguns might fit awkwardly in your hands. If you have smallish hands, a bulky gun might not fit well in your hands (it won’t point naturally and you will have to stretch for the trigger). If you take a good class, they will demonstrate to you exactly how a gun should fit in your hands so later when you choose what gun to buy you will know whether it is a good candidate just by whether you can pick the gun up easily or whether you have to keep shifting it in your hands to point the gun properly and reach the trigger. If you have to go through forced motions, then you are doing something wrong or the gun does not fit well.
Gun Tests is a good magazines..there are many interet forums where you can ask questions and get good answers.
www.gunforums.com
www.paxbaculum.com
www.warriortalk.com
www.combatcarry.com
These are all good places to get good info, and we can all help you to the best of our abilities.
Personally, after carrying and owning dozens of different types of defensive handguns, I’ve pretty much settled on the glock...although I am intrigued by the walther P-99