I'd trust the HD guy if he can show you his plumber's license and will give you a written guarantee to replace and install for free any faucet he recommends that doesn't work out.
Stick with Delta/Peerless, Moen, Kohler, American Standard, and Pfister because parts for them are available everywhere, they have lifetime warranties, and their warranty service is very good, although Pfister charges for shipping.
Stainless steel is the best material for faucet bodies, but any metal body (brass, zinc) plated with chrome, nickel, gold, etc. should last a long time. Try to avoid plastic bodies because they flex a lot more and the plating doesn't stick nearly as well, making the plating more prone to peeling off.
Faucet valves are usually either ceramic disks, Delta ball, or Moen cartridge. They're all good and long-lasting, but I wouldn't use a Moen where the whole faucet can't be removed easily, such as from a shower/bathtub, because Moen cartridges become very hard to remove when they seize from mineral build-up or one of their rubber seals wedges. Fortunately many newer Moens don't use that cartridge but have ceramic disk cartridges (not interchangeable with the old ones). Delta ball valves are easy and cheap to fix, but try to use genuine Delta seals because they seem to last much longer. Delta also uses ceramic disk cartridges for some models.