Right. Get a good all round road racer. I like the Allez too, but think it’s a bit over hyped. I wanted one myself, but ended up on a Tarmac SL6 for less money and same spec (Albeit used with ~150mi on it, but flawless and $1500 under retail). Zero regrets. My favorite bike I’ve owned.
If you’re on a budget and are buying new I’d go towards alloy, can’t go wrong with a CAAD/Allez/etc. If you’re willing to look used then it opens things up a bit. Honestly, bikes are so good these days the options are wide open.
I’m all about buying second hand. Seems the people with the nicest bikes ride them the least. $1500-$2500 gets you a lot of bike and if you go rim brake, some nice carbon clinchers can be found for cheap.