How am I supposed to choose a kind of lettuce when A) I have no idea what they taste like and B) there are like 5000 different varieties?? I want different stuff for salads. Not too fond of the bitterish stuff.
What types of lettuce do you grow/recommend?

You are absolutely right about a large number of lettuce varieties. Personally, I prefer the "crispy" varieties such as the green Summer Crisp.