old mtn. bike, any current comparison

Wow, how biking has changed. Around 1990 or so I bought a Schwinn Sierra MOS mountain bike. I was actually looking at the specialized rockhopper but they were out so were offering a 50 dollar discount on the schwinn. Anyway, I absolutely loved that bike but ended up selling it after college(stupid me). What is a fairly equivalent model today? I'm wondering about schwinn quality since they've changed ownership. I've been looking at the schwinn mesa, specialized hard rock and rock hopper. I don't mind spending a fair amount of money but no more riding than I'll be doing I don't want to overspend. I figure any of these will be far superior to what I was used to. I will only be riding in the evenings and on weekends. Most riding will be offroad but not really hardcore, downhill, hardass riding. Let me know what would likely be best. My local bike shops carry schwinn, GT, specialized and one other brand I can't recall, maybe KHS or something similar. I am looking most closely at the specialized hardrock and the schwinn Mesa. I'm also wondering about the SRAM components since they are new to me. Thanks in advance, Greg