Need whole house water filtration/softener advice

We just moved into a new home (new fror us, the house is 20 years old) and are looking into getting a whole house water filtration system. We're less concerned about softening, but if I can find a good unit for a fair price that does both, all the better.

We live in the Sacramento area and I've had a hard time locating local vendors for these, so if anyone has any recommendations, please share.

So I've been lurking in the forums here for a few weeks and still don't have a really clear idea about what we should get. Our priorities are (in order of importance): filter the water to as pure as possible without removing beneficial minerals, avoid having to replace cartridges/filters more than once every few years, soften the water.

Our water here is medium-hard, although I haven't tested it myself, just getting that info from the county water quality board. We live in a 2-story, 2234sf home with 3 full baths. We have 1" pipes coming in from our main water source. There are three of us - 2 adults, once 3yo child.

Here's the units I've become interested in:

Fleck 700SE
Clack WS-1*
GE Homespring*
LifeSource
AquaCera RS-CITY-CJ8
Pelican PSE1800 (what's the deal with Filtersorb?)
Aquasana EQ-300

* = can't find any pricing info online

We actually had a LifeSource guy come out and his sales pitch REALLY turned us OFF to that solution. Just way too much of a car salesman vibe...

So I'm ready and open to suggestions, advice, etc. on what to use. We obviously would prefer to save some money on this, but are willing to spend enough to get a good, solid unit that will effectively filter our water and last us for many years without the hassle of regular repairs.

Thanks for your help!

eddie