Leland,
I've sea kayaked for years. What do you want to do with the boat? ie: run rivers or paddle lakes? There are sit on top types or the more traditional sit inside types. There are plastic (roto-molded) boats, fiberglass, or even carbon fiber. All have good and bad points. Also, what are you looking to spend per boat?
Necky is a good local brand that my Dad does a lot of business with:
http://www.necky.com