I have a Taylor 814ce and a Tacoma DF21, shown here:
http://www.aimoo.com/forum/postview...=1&start=1&CategoryID=264767&ThreadID=1426157
The maple produces a bright tone that works great for cutting through the mix in a band situation. Since it's a dred, it has plenty of bass and is well balanced.
Like Jon said, for $2k you could pick up a Taylor or a Martin. If I were you, I would play several different styles and makes. I picked up my Tacoma, brand new off of ebay for $875. I think it compares very favorably with a Taylor 610 in both tone and playability. I would definitely try some Larrivee and Tacoma guitars. You will be able to get more guitar for the money with these brands, than with a Taylor or Martin. Don't get me wrong, I love my Taylor and don't plan to ever sell it. There are just a lot of good guitars out there and I would not limit your search to a couple of brand names. Going for the Tacoma was an easy decision. I didn't want to spend another $2k on a 2nd acoustic. I was able to get comparable quality for much less.
My Taylor is a grand auditorium body style with a cutaway. If I only had one guitar, I would choose this size (some mfgs call it a Little Jumbo). It just fits me like a glove. This is a wonderful all around acoustic. The sitka top and rosewood b&s produce a nice warm sound. You can get the GA sized guitars from Taylor without a cutaway, but you might have to order it. It is more common to see a Taylor 714 without a cutaway. The 714 has rosewood b&s with a cedar top. I heard someone say this had a creamy tone, which I think is a good description.
Really, there are so many choices, you need to go try some out.
Here's a pic of my Taylor. I cropped the picture, since there were other folks (from my office party) in the picture as well.