Roofing Materials

I'm trying to collect a bit more information on roofing.  I've thought that a steel roof would be good, because it is made from recycled material, is recyclable, durable, long-lasting, and can reflect heat from the house.  In the past few years, it seems like metal roofing options have really expanded.  You can now get metal roofs in many styles, including faux tiles, faux slate, faux wood shingles, etc... These faux products are all put on in rows, one layer at a time.  I'm not sure if that means that you're sacrificing anything in terms of how water proof the roof is (more seams would mean more chances for leaks, no?)  The other options is standing seam roof in which the roof is put on in larger panels. 

I'm still trying to collect more information on this topic.  I did find one stone coated, faux shingle roof that looked nice to me:

It looks nice, tidy and comes in this pretty, charcoal grey color that I like.