replacement in historic home

[LKW]

I live in Central NC where hot summers are more of an energy drain than cold winters. My home is 100 years old and thus nothing is square. About 20 years ago we replaced the original windows with Weathershield low e double pane wood windows and they have gradually failed. We used a standard size and seals weren't great. I was replacing piecemeal but Weathershield no longer makes the same window. I think the best bet is to replace all the windows again but I am favoring custom-built windows to get good seals. I've been quoted $3200 per window from RBA, local contractor quoted $1680 for Windsor and a little over $1000 per window from Wincore.
Questions: On a historic home (but no covenants to worry about) I think I need painted wood inside, but can I get away with vinyl or aluminum outside? Preferences for one over the other? Are there other brands to consider? Is the $$ jump to RBA worthwhile to get custom fit?
Thanks!

[Windows on Washington]

Anything can be ordered "custom". The entirety of the replacement industry is only based on custom sized windows.

If you want a real wood interior, I think the Marvin Elevate is the prettier unit to be honest.

[Wyoung]

If you want clad wood you can compare cost for equal series across Pella, Marvin, and AW.
It is nice if you can find a window pro to quote all three, or at least one common size. If one person can do that for you you eliminate some of the variables among differs contractors.