I have been through several calibers, brands, actions etc. I run around 1500 rounds through pistol a week for several years mostly 22 lr of course shooting Rugers, and S&W Model 41 target shooting. I also ran over 1000 rounds of rifle ammo a week for several years, to say I was a gun enthusiast is putting it mild LOL not mild on the wallet by any means however. I chose Glock over all the concealed carry pistols I have been through for a couple of reasons, one being I have a horrible tendency to rust anything I touch... I have found ways around this via special dry lube oils etc.. however Glock fits me perfect with the benefit of severe corrosion resistance from the weapon design itself. I agree with others you need to try on a few before making a decision, also don't by compact just because you think you can conceal it better... many many times one step up (speaking of glock mid sized models) you get more magazine capacity, and much much better control.. then they have this fall back that the magazine capacity is the same between compact, and mid size model pay close attention here as the magazine extends beyond the grip which gives you the exact same magazine capacity with the loss of muzzle control, handling comfort, and when you strap it on it's the exact same dimension when trying to conceal even though it may look better on paper.
I had a colt Gov Model ( I forget it now it's been so long ago, it was however the expensive 380 small scaled down version of the 45) that was a outstanding conceal carry weapon, however some lowlife lifted it from me. I really enjoyed that pistol, I could have replaced it, however it did have some short comings.
I chose/choose a Glock 23 for my concealed carry piece, I prefer the 40 S&W myself, and I couple that with a alessi holster which will set you back 75-125 smakers.
When you do purchase your concealed carry piece, practice with it.. practice makes almost perfect, don't start looking for a trouble situation in every corner.. thinking up situations that may arise every day etc, practice shooting it as much as possible 100 rounds a week would be a good start, and 9mm has the advantage of getting cheap ammo for... however also be familiar with the ammo you choose to carry for protection as well.
It may very well take you 5 pistols or more to decide what you want, I prefer a semi-auto, however I have nothing against revolvers... but when I was putting those 1k amount of rounds down range during the week it was with an semi-auto, so naturally I leaned towards that... I still have no problem with a revolver, and S&W makes a excellent lightweight that I also carried for a long time... I think they even chamber in 9mm for revolver if I'm not mistaken which would be a great choice.