i'm a big believer that you start looking within a general GENRE of skis based on your criteria for usage. but at some point, you can only start narrowing down which ski is right for you based on FEEL. what do i mean? well, the mantra and snoop daddy are going to have a similar performance envelope. groomer performance, crud performance, pow performance... all the skis in the category are going to be SOMEWHAT similar in all these aspects. they all balance these categories differently, but NONE of them will be on a COMPLETELY different planet from the rest. so which ski should you go with then? well, ask yourself: historically, what FEEL have the skis you've liked had? light or heavy? soft or stiff? lively or damp? small or large turn radius? etc... answer these questions and you'll be more likely to end up with a ski that you really LOVE to be on. but of course, there is no real substitute for demoing
EDIT: but, fwiw, it DOES sound like you are at least looking in the right genre of skis. it would also help if you posted your specs (size, ability, etc.)