One thing to keep in mind is that pastels do color up after a few sheds. I got my female pastel thinking she was pretty decent, but after two sheds with me (probably her 4th/5th total) I'm really happy with her! With that said, you still don't want to get a cruddy pastel. They should still be pretty bold and have a lot of yellow on them. Don't waste your time on a dull/dark pastel baby, pastels brown/dull with age just like any other so you need some wiggle room!
As for spiders, I like them really clean and bright. I was lucky and have a friend near by who has a bright/high gold spiders and picked up a fantastic one from him. He's trying to talk me into picking up a female spider from him this week But I probably will especially if she's like his other spiders!!!