As the proud owner of a new roof this year -- I can tell you this is not an inexpensive home update!  My roof replacement was due to Hurricane Katrina so at least insurance helped out.  Using a lighter color roofing shingle than had previously been used and installing the architectural style shingles made a greater than expected improvement in the appearance of my home.

The variety of roofing shingles available is matched by the wide range of prices of roofing.  As any homeowner knows, when you are planning an improvement you are constantly looking at other homes as you drive - to see what they've done.  I've never paid much attention to roofs until I was making the color and style decisions to replace mine.

What I noticed was that so many homes have roofing materials that seem totally unrelated to the home itself.  The common gray or black color doesn't blend with light color siding or tan brick...yet is used by many builders.  Perhaps that is due to cost or being able to buy the materials in buk for several homes at a time.

Living on the Coast it seemed impractical to install very dark roofing which would absorb the most heat.  Thus, my own choice for my tan brick home was desert tan shaded architectural shingles.  I'm very pleased with the results and doubt that I will ever install the black/gray roofing again on any home. 

Admittedly, my top preference would have been to install a steel metal roof but as I plan to sell my home in the next two years, I couldn't justify paying the high price.