Which sage is right?

Depends what you want to use it for. There are over 900 different species in the Salvia family, all of which have their own unique properties. Salvia nemorosa or Snow Hill Sage is known mainly for it's anti-nociceptive effects (pain reducing qualities)

Personally i think it's best you start off on Common sage (Salvia officinalis) as it's the most widely used/documented sage in terms of medicinal and culinary purposes.

My personal favourite in the Salvia genus goes by the name of Saliva Divinorum, but thats a different story for another tribe, perhaps. ;)

Which sage is right?

Depends what you want to use it for. There are over 900 different species in the Salvia family, all of which have their own unique properties. Salvia nemorosa or Snow Hill Sage is known mainly for it's Anti-nociceptive effects (pain reducing qualities)

Personally i think it's best you start off on Common sage (Salvia officinalis) as it's the most widely used/documented sage in terms of medicinal and culinary purposes.

My personal favourite in the Salvia genus goes by the name of Saliva Divinorum, but thats a different story for another tribe, perhaps. ;)

I started off using a completely unheard of Sage (Salvia subincisa) and it was an amazing ally for me.... the thing is whether you are drawn to the plant and feel a connection to it....

but you have to understand that a non-aromatic sage will act somewhat differently than a highly aromatic one, the garden sage that is so popular is highly aromatic (as is white sage, salvia apiana).... i have found that just about every salvia i have tried (and i've tried about fifty now) are very calming and often pain-relieving.... i'm also of the opinion that they are all blood and fluid moving (salvia coccinea is especially so). i would go so far as to say that they are pretty much mind/mood altering to one degree or another, especially for the right person. herbalist Paul Bergner of the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism uses a flower essence of blue sage for extreme stress and I've used many of the blue flowered sages in the same way with drop doses of the fresh plant tincture. I often call a native blue sage, "the plant that saved my life" along with rose, because of the huge role it played in helping with my anxiety and emotional issues.

the aromatics lend themselves to increasing the antibacterial power of the plant.... so i'd rather use say, white sage, for an longstanding infection than one of the less smelly ones. i would have thought the same would have been true for stomach settling effects, but you know, i've experienced that from even non aromatic salvias...

michael moore has great sections of various salvias in his book medicinal plants of the mountain west.... and anne mcintyre has a good understanding of the plant as well, i think her Complete Floral Healer is the one with the larger sage section in it.

though sage has been a popular medicinal plant for ages, it's just now being (re)recognized for its nervine/anti-depressant uses... David Hoffmann is giving a whole workshop this year at Medicines from the Earth on Salvias and their nervous system effects (I'll be buying that tape just as soon as the conference is over, you can bet).

I'm totally sage-obsessed (Roses are the only things I can talk about longer LOL), in fact, my cabin is covered in potted sages, my garden is full of sages and there's at leas three native salvias here on our land so I"m quite surrounded....