Window material experiences

[William H.]

I am looking to make a rule of thumb of when each material is used.

I've installed around a hundred better-quality, custom-fit vinyl windows so far. I have not personally installed any wood windows.

On a project I'm working on now, my goal is for the building to look original and for the new windows to last for a very long time with reasonable maintenance. It is a 1920s brick.

Structurally vinyl windows aren't as stiff so the visible width of the sashes tends to be bigger than wood and sometimes that's a problem visually. Some people say the reasonable life on one is pretty short-15-20 years. One problem I notice is vinyls can be hard to open/close as the house shifts-seen in an old house and may or not be related to my question. But that experience may sway me away from vinyls in any and all old-build. (!??) 

Yet some people are telling me vinyl's as good as it gets, and that wood rots.

Window materials discussions seem to be full of opinion and there seems to be a lot of misinformation out there.

Not sure where this should be posted.

I did search prior to posting, thanks in advance!