I've been lurking here off and on since my sister told me about the site when she renovated her kitchen. I'm now starting the process in my own 1929 original kitchen. I came across a site with interesting information on stone countertops that may be of interest to others. Azul Macauba is my favourite.

Although the site isn't the easiest to navigate, here are two of the highlights for me. I hope it's helpful to someone else:

Compare granite prices - http://www.findstone.com/pl/435.htm

Compare granite properties - http://www.findstone.com/daniel2.htm