Tubedude,
What sound are you looking for? The majority of the Avalon preamps tend to be exceptionally clean and clear sounding, with the exception of the 737. The m5 is a very nice, crystal clear sounding pre that won't break the bank.
As far as the Neves, they tend to be "less clean", but they have a nice warm top end and a tendency to make everything sound "larger than life", with a few exceptions. The 1073, 1066, 1064, are all class a discrete pre's that are exceptionally popular for rock and roll. The 1081 and 1099 are both very nice class a/b mic pre's, that tend to sound slightly more "realistic". The 1272's are actually a talkback mic pre that people convert to a "psuedo" 1073, as its build and components are similar.
Some other pre's that you may want to check out are the Great River MP2 (cleaner than most neves, but still warm),
Focusrite ISA110 (super clean...nice top end), Focusrite Reds (not as "clean" as the ISA, but slightly warmer), API 212, 312, and 512's (super punchy), and the Millenia Media pre's (another "clean" sounding pre..).
Good luck in your search,
Andy