alright heres my list based on what you said your kinda interested in:
Specialized SX: more of a freeride bike, still light though, only weighs about 31 pounds considering the travel the bike has(which is about 6-7 inches) its about $4000 retail new
yeti sb-66. its more of an all mountain bike with 6 inches of travel. its lighter than the SX and is ment for tough climbs and even tougher descents. it retails $3000 to probably as low as $1500 depending on the components you put on it.
I also recommend a yeti asr 7. this bike is like your power house do it all bike. climbs like a machine, goes downhill smoothly and has 7 inches of travel. retails like $2500 new.
Personally i think yeti makes the best bikes hands down. they're still hand made for the most part and haven had as many reports of breaking like kona, knolly, rocky mountain, and scott has had. dont get me wrong those companies are great but they overprice the hell out of them for what they put into making sure the bike works right and how well their built.