How can I choose a new saddle?

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Hi all,

I'm buying my first road bike (after many years of MTB and touring) and one of the things I want to do is get a decent saddle. However, there seems to be so many choices out there, and sometimes with very little difference between them (as far as I can tell).

Is there any way of working out which saddle to buy? The only way I can figure is to ride each one for a few weeks - and then my bum will surely make the choice for me: but obviously, that's not a real option.

What do y'all think?

Thanks,
Brendan