I just went through this process myself, and here's what I learned:

-As others have said, there are glass guys and aluminum guys, and never the tween shall meet. Go with what makes you feel comfortable.
-You will hear a lot of people tell you that there are drift boats for sale "all the time" in the $2,000 range. This is true at times, but certainly not always.
-If you look at a boat you like for a little more than you want to pay and the guy's not willing to come down on his price at all, wait a week. The worst that will happen is that he will sell the boat to someone else, and more likely, he will end up calling or e-mailing you with a lower price. This happened to me, and the guy came down almost $1,000 on his price after getting several other offers that were less than he wanted.
-As John suggested, a drift boat is a great tool, but you might also want to look into pontoons and rafts. They are fishing machines and will keep you on the water when there's not enough water for the driftboats to be comfortable.
-Make sure you plan on spending at least $500 after your purchase price to cover the little things you will need to do to get your rig, storage space, etc. set up for your new boat. There are more than a few hidden expenses. Just one reason why they say BOAT stands for break out another thousand.

By the way, I still haven't bought my drifter/raft/pontoon. I ended up buying a used Livingston to take the family fishing on lakes, in the Sound, etc. I am still in the market for a river boat, but I am waiting until the right boat comes along at the right price to pull the trigger.

Have fun!!