Everybody has a favorite brand (I'm partial to Cannondale,) but I don't think that's the issue. Focus more on frame geometry (MTN vs road vs hybrid) and frame material.
Hybrids came about when people were putting mountain bars and gears on their old road bikes, which were more efficient on roads and hard pack. They truly offer the best of all worlds, BUT they master none.
If you kept breaking spokes, you need a new wheel. It was probably put together by a machine that over tensed the gear side. I've never broken a spoke; even when I parked the derailluer in them once! But, those back spokes are typically under an uneven load, and are more suceptible to failure.
Problem today is that most bikes are aluminum, as it is standard and cheap to produce, now... thankfully! Aluminum is great. It never rusts or corrodes, it's very light, and we finally figured out how to make th paint stick!
Problem is that aluminum is very flexible, when compared to steel. And what makes matters worse is that steel bends and returns to it's original shape... aluminum cracks and fatigues. Which is why several airplnes wound up topless in the 80's.
To combat this, designers can employ one of two options: thicker wall tubes, or thicker diameter tubes. Thicker wall tubes with narrow diameters are strong enough to resist failure, but are very flexible, and not very efficient. Thick diameter tubes with thin walls are very stiff and harsh on long distance rides.
Steel is stronger, but heavier, and it rusts. It was the mainstay for decades, but has fallen out of favor. High end steel is very expensive (those $1000 plus Italian jobs.) Low end steel is very heavy, high-tensile strength steel. Cro-moly is great for building bikes, and offers a nice mix of the two.
Titanium is out-of-this-world expensive, but is stronger than steel, very light, and offers what some call "the magic carpet ride." Springy, yet tight and efficient.
Carbon fiber is what the designer wants it to be, as it is strong in the direction of the fibers, and tangentially flexible. If it feels good riding it, chances are the designer hoped to optimize it for characteristics you are looking for.
Personally, I'd go with a light, aluminum hybrid or touring frame. You want the relaxed geometry (slack head-tube/seat-tube angle.) If your a die hard roadie, go with a touring frame. they're basically the same deal as a road bike, but the chainstays are longer, and thus the wheelbase is longer, so it's more plush. They also have slack head-tube angles (which means you can keep it going straight without two sets of white knuckles!)
You want tires that are as slick and small as are practical. Rolling resistance adds up. The difference between road slicks and knobbys is huge... the difference between 20 and 25mm is not.