Ok, since everyone else is putting in their 2 cents, I'll offer some of my opinions on boats I have sailed on or owned.
First off, I'm a member of a large cat club (150 boats), so I've been around and on a lot fo the boats mentioned in this thread.

First off, I currently own a hobie 16 and an inter 17. I hate the H16. IT si very true that for one design racing, it si a humongous class, other than that, I don't think too much of the boat. I will say though, that I know many many happy H16 skippers, and that's fine. At my club, used H16's are going for between $500 & $1000 (us). For this reason, it is usually most ppl's first catamaran. It's a picky boat. I think a lot of beginners get discouraged with it. It is definitely sailable in almost anything, but it requires a good amount of experience to do so.

I would not even consider a wave or getaway. Even for an absolute beginner. I have never sailed a bravo, nor do I really know anything about them, so I won't give any opinions.

I have yet to be on it or see it, but a club member recently purchased a dragoon. It sounds like a drastic improvement over the wave and getaway. The getaway sounded like an improvement over the wave, until I actually sailed on one...

Hobie 17 is a great boat. I wouldn't recommend it for primarily doublehanded sailing.

The hobie 18 would be a great boat. A good compromise, and there are a good number of relatively older and more inexpensive ones available.

The prindle line would be good for an older boat.

I think the absolutely ideal boat would be an inter 17 or FX-one, but they aren't cheap boats. I know that an Inter17 w/o spinnaker is about $9500 (in the states). I believe FX-ones w/o spinnaker are going for $9100 here. The reason these boats are great is that they are both designed to be sailed single handed or doublehanded which makes them very versatile. I have sailed my Inter 17 double handed and been almost able to keep up with the tigers... These are very responsive boats, and almost impossible to pitchpole. Doublehanded it should be relatively hard to capsize them, too.

A Tiger or Nacra F18 or Inter 18 or Tornado may be a bit much to handle, but if you want a bit more of a challenge, they are very fantastic boats.

I really can't comment on Mysteres or Taipans, we don't really have them here. I don't know the specific models, but from what I do know about them, both brands should have models that would be good for you. I believe these are mainly European brands.

The other thing is some of the other Nacra models, like a 5.0 or 5.5. Personally, I think the 5.0 is one of the most forgiving cats for a beginner to sail. If I were to start a cat sailing school for adults. I would buy a fleet of Nacra 5.0. Easy to handle, no daggerboards to worry about. Very safe and buoyant, and fast, fun boats. They're also built really solid.

Don't mean to offend anyone, this is all just based on my personal experiences, and everyone's will vary.

-Justin