I just replaced the original Continentals (got ~73,000 out of them) with a set of Michelin Cross Terrains. So far I'm impressed at how much nicer they ride. I haven't had a chance to get any fuel mileage numbers yet, hopefully it won't go down. I'd say the road noise is slightly less than the Contis.
Here's some info I discovered while doing my research. The Cross Terrains come in three different treadwear ratings. The H series are rated at 420, the S series are rated at 520 and, what is not readily apparent, the S series with the raised white lettering (ORWL) are rated at 700! It's not possible to decipher this on Michelin's website so I called their customer support and was told that.
I bought mine at Costco and sure enough, if you get the raised white letter version it lists a treadwear rating of 700 on the sticker.
This explains why some people report having them wear out around 40,000 miles while others report getting near 80,000 miles out of them.
My second choice would have been the LXT M/S as many people report being very happy with them. The reason I didn't go with them is they are supposed to ride a bit harder because they are built stronger for better off-road durability.