[soundman98]

i start with narrowing down the type of style i prefer-- mesh or # of spokes, color, dish/flat face. figure out what wheels are even available in the style/finish you like, figure out which brands make a quality wheel in that style, and then work backwards to what sizes are available by that mfg, in your country, and in stock, or available for made-to-order or pre-order, and not some obscure site that says everything's in stock but will reject and refund any orders after placing the order for stuff that can't be ordered...

for example, rota's really good on their japanese site at saying they make every one of their wheel designs in any bolt pattern in any of a thousand sizes, and any of a thousand offsets, but you'll never find more than 5-10 of any styles in a specific size in only a few offsets that are actually available to order from american distributors.