How to choose a rosary

[anodos]

I'm not yet Catholic (hoping to join an RCIA program soon) but I would like to become more acquainted with meditative prayer, and I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how they selected a rosary. Did you receive yours from a friend or ancestor, or did you simply buy one that you liked? Does it matter how many beads it has? I notice some are very short, others are longer. Some have saints' images, others have plain beads. Some have a medallion with an image and others have only a cross. I realize that praying the rosary is not an RC requirement, so I assume that these differences are simply matters of preference. Does anyone have advice?