I have a Dawn Redwood (Similar to Cyprus) and live in a very windy area. Great tree but needs a little more additional water than most while establishing. Very bright green in color and grows like crazy.

Drought tolerant usually comes with the roots from hell!

Conifers they seldom change color so if you pick a color you like in the nursery you should be happy.

Pinyon pine if well-watered its first few years, Atlas Cedar's dark green varieties, Italian Stone Pine, or Eldarica pine (gets HUGE ... too big for most houses)

If you can find them, some of the native Shagbark or alligator Junipers can be an intense dark green,

+1 for afghan/mondale pine (pinus eldarica). Used extensively in southern NM, el paso, tx for just that purpose. Grows fast and as pointed out gets pretty big.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Pinyon can grow very fast if overwatered in very dry soil. My New Mexico soil is probably pretty similar to yours. I got 8 inches out of the leader on my 7 ft. pinyon this year! It looks almost mutant the needles are so spread out. It just needs to drain always.