Congratulations! and Welcome!
I think the answer will depend a bit on what lines you're starting with and also what you are looking for in cattle. We tend to focus on the show side of genetics, but when I think of breeders who produce purebred cattle that work for commercial markets, I tend to think of genetics from Harris, Briggs, Wendt, Red Doc, and Winrock broadly. All are large breeders that have been around for a long time with names that can be found in pedigrees around the country.
Some popular, timeless bulls that you will see in many pedigrees include:
Hatchet 150 (Tinney Farms)
Partner 5273 (Wendt)
Briggs 023/91 (Briggs)
Geronimo 3983 (Wendt)
Grizzly 3308 (Primarily you will see in pedigrees carrying Cotton Branch or Liberty Ranch genetics)
These will at least give you a place to start on pedigrees, if that is what you are looking for.
Some other common genetics you will likely see are:
Clarendon 740
Hustler 920
Strut 55
Top Gun 244
Ricardo 182/02
These genetics really get into people's stylistics. The Hustler/Strut combination was very popular in the 1980s and 1990s, but is somewhat less common now. From what I can tell, opinions in the breed are fairly mixed on Top Gun and Ricardo, with some folks loving them and some folks not as much, but both have played a large role in the breed over the last 10 years, and both have produced quality descendants. Clarendon 740 is very popular among the show crowd, and you will see him in a lot of pedigrees.
You will, of course, find animals from outside these pedigrees that are of high quality, I'm simply trying to provide a snapshot. All of these bulls are well-represented in the semen catalog in the January magazine (also available online at
http://www.santagertrudis.com). You might consider attending the College of Knowledge in conjunction with the Crimson Classic Sale in Hanceville, AL at the end of April.
Others may have different impressions or opinions from mine, but that's a first run.