@mikelz777
What a wonderful quest! It's clear that every bit of your self-knowledge of preferences aye and nay is already proving helpful. With so many great choices out there, personal preference-- not least aesthetics-- is definitely as important as any other consideration.
And, preference is not something any one person can answer for another.
I'll chime in on a few brands already touched on here:
1) I have an Ohana Concert I love against most comers (CK-38), a solid-top laminate I've tried hard to love but just don't [more for reasons of feel than of tone?] (CK-50ME), and a couple that are a total hoot for what they are-- an SK-21 Sopranino, and the Nunez Soprano SK-28 (happy little Bark Box, that!). A spectrum of affection, within a number of relatively similarly-produced products.
Maybe you would enjoy another Ohana, more than than you would have expected. Maybe not....
2) Anuenue AMM2: This one so very clearly has more to offer than I know to ask of it, yet. What an instrument. In an odd way, I'm still not sure what to think of mine. It's so... other, compared to my other choices.
It's not heavy, per se, but presents as substantial, and I look forward to really,
really playing it through the years ahead. Every time I pick it up, I'm all, "Woah."
I would actually prefer a non-slotted headstock (slotted headstocks on Ukuleles seem visually heavy to me due their necessary thickness, and I don't care for the
feel of the width at the rear back of the head, but it's a looker all the same.
I don't have enough experience to say that it punches above its weight, but the extra-wide lower bout* definitely gives it sonic depth that my other Concerts don't have. It's not a loud ukulele, it's just a MORE one.
*The AMM2 is, as Queen might say, a fat-bottomed girl. I appealed to Anuenue USA to allow me to upgrade to a hard case when I purchased it, because: BLUE, and also with an eye to humidification through the winter. They replied that the blue hard cases are for the Moonbirds/uppermost-level Ukuleles only, and extolled the quality of the AMM2's included gig bag. The gig bag *is* nice, but I'd still prefer a hard case.
Had I realized the AMM2 would not fit into a standard concert hard case due to its lower bout, I might have pushed harder-- if indeed, it even fits into Anuenue's blue ones...?
If the AMM2's styling appeals to you at all, I would definitely give it a good, long look.
3) The Rebel
My favorite take on the naming unconventions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtPAZLa7hHs&t
"... But how would you know?!"
I have an Acacia Concert prototype and a Mango Double Creme Soprano.
The ukuleles sound different from each other, but can also both be instantly identified as Rebels by their tone-- a definite family resemblance.
And... I love my Rebels unreasonably, soup to nuts-- the feel, the sound, the softer strings, the aesthetics and branding. They suit me well, best, and I'm so glad I jumped into them.
As you've said, aesthetics matter, and should be heeded. I don't care for the Koaloha/Opio distinctives, especially the non-round sound holes-- and that's enough of a deal-breaker for me.
You don't care for the Rebel distinctives, so that's a deal-breaker for you.
(And again, a good thing to reckon with and accept from the get-go: there are so many great choices, there's no point spending extra energy trying to like something/not let something bother you....)
My hope for you at this point is that your next ukelele(s) suit you as well as the (The) Rebels do me.
I look forward to seeing what you decide.
~ S.
