Kirk:
It really depends on how you are going to use it. If you want an all-around canoe that you can use on anything from Class III whitewater to paddling across a whitecapped lake, that you can use solo or with a partner, that will paddle well with just you or be able to handle a load for a week long trip, take Matt's advice.
The Dagger Legend is one great all around canoe. Two others that get rave reviews are the Mad River Explorer (16 feet) and the Old Town Tripper (17 feet). I'm sure there are others, but those are the three I see in most in New England. (In the Midwest, especially around the Boundary Waters, you'll see more of a premium on canoes for flatwater, and they'll be a little longer, a little narrower, and a little flatter.) If you can get across the border into Canada, look at the Nova Craft Prospector in 16 or 17 foot lengths.
Any of these will carry you and a buddy, 2 dozen decoys, a retriever and the rest of your gear. I use my Mad River Explorer, which has now seen at least 20 years of hard use, even on protected tidal waters in Maine, right to the close of the season in late December. I've never felt unsafe. I'd be equally comfortable in any similar canoe.
Little canoes like the Old Town Pack or the Sportspal are a lot easier to carry, but have a lot smaller capacity, and don't paddle nearly so well. If you are solo, only need to go a short distance on flat water with no waves, and don't need to carry as much gear, they may be a better choice than a canoe that is bigger than you need. They are a LOT easier to hide.
If I can give a single piece of advice, and its one that will conflict with much that you will hear about "hunting" or "sporting" canoes, it's to not buy something with a keel. It won't really help the boat track better (although other boat design features will). I'd also avoid flat-bottomed canoes--which are also commonly marketed to the sporting crowd for their "stability". A flat bottomed canoe will FEEL more stable than a boat with an arched or a V-hull. However, a good V or arched hull will get more stable the farther you lean it. (Up to a point, of course. Once your center of mass is outside the gunwales, all best are off.) A flat bottomed boat will feel stable at first, but as you lean (say, to pick up a decoy or haul your Lab back in the boat) it will pass the tipping point rapidly and become less stable. That's when you swim. This tendency is even more pronounced in short canoes than in longer ones.
