Whats your build? You Tall and lanky or short and stocky?
Personally I don’t think you need to spend that much for a bike to get something worth while. It doesn’t sound like you are a pro or anything (I’m not saying that I am either) so I bet you could find something under $1300 to fit your needs more than adequately. Here are some suggestions of “practical bikes.” I think people today go out and buy something that is way too good for them. I hate seeing lame bikers riding around on bikes that are 5000 dollars and won’t do a 4 foot drop or some jumps. I rode BMX for many years and you can do some amazing stuff on a rigid heavy bike, and you honestly don’t need a deck-out 1000 something dollar bike to be good. I’ve made minor upgrades to my “alright” bikes and have whooped the crap out of people on 2000+ dollar bikes.
If you are a slightly lanky guy and are looking for some XC riding get a gary fisher tassahajra. It sounds like you have money so I’d get the high end one. There is also a Specialized Rockhopper that would be more suitable for a shorter beefer person like myself. Both those bikes are pretty decent XC hardtails. I’ve ridden both on trails and I like the gary fisher better. I had an Old rockhopper and rode it to death (its now a singlespeed), I really liked that bike a lot (the new geometry isn’t as good as the older one). I have done 5 foot drop offs and even jumps at bmx places (very retarded on an XC bike). I’ve never ridden a very good dual suspension bike that I liked and I would say if you are into XC riding you might want to steer clear of all of that. Unless you ride up in New England or something where its rock everywhere (I have done a lot of riding in Maine and NH and I sometimes wished I had a dual). My friend swears by the kona dual suspension bikes so that’s also a possibility. Know nothing about them.
If you like the more aggressive style riding and are a shorter guy (under 6’) you can’t go wrong with a P2 or P3. I currently have a P2 and it does everything. Urban assault crap, Dirt Jumps, Drops, Downhillish stuff, and if you got the engine even some XC stuff (you really need to be in shape if you are planning on doing any long distance stuff). However you will be riding a 30 something pound bike, which makes hopping, and getting up hills a task (I don’t care cuz I can still hope up like 2.5 foot things without using my bashguard). The bike is indestructible once you break the front forks and replace them with Dirtjumper forks. Also the price is unbeatable for what you get. Parts are relatively cheap to replace. People also like the kona version of the P2 … its quite comparable but I think specialized has a better deal.
My advice is that you are probably looking at a hardtail for around 1000. You pay much more than that and you have to figure in the maintenance cost. I break a lot of stuff on bikes and maintaining a bike can cost sometimes upwards of 300 a year on a high end bike. My friend pays that much for his bike to keep it in perfect order and he only does XC riding. Bikes these days come with crazy amount of stuff for under 1000 and I think unless you are a VERY serious rider (i.e. someone that races and trains everyday) there is no reason to get something that high end. I’ve been riding some sort of bmx/mountain bike for over 10 years and I’m only 21, and I haven’t had to spend over 1000 dollars to do all the crazy retarded crap I do on a bike. I do bigger and crazy stuff on my 900 dollar p2 (upgraded some stuff) than almost any yuppy out there on their something $grand bikes. As for XC stuff, yea having a low 20 something pound bike is nice, but not necessary. With minor upgrades (ie clippless pedals), and a little effort you can easily keep up or pass your buddies on their something $grand bikes and make them feel stale.