I went for Exal LX17 black rims, LX hubs and stainless double butted (not on drive side of rear wheel) spokes.
I came to this spec from reading info on forums like this one, friends and professional advice plus budget I wanted to spend.
Sure they will be better than the £50 ebay wheels I have been using for the last couple of years.
Exal are just about the best rims you can buy, if you can get hold of them. My Utopia Kranich came with Exal rims, which definitely build into a superior wheel, for practical purposes beyond bulletproof, maybe even everlasting, especially when used with the heavier (but ever so ugly) Sapim spokes. Unfortunately Exal seems to concentrate on OEM distribution, so that finding their rims in the correct sizes in retail stores is a pain, and often simply impossible. The Exal XL I use offer the correct internal width of 24mm to build a true 29er wheel.