(apologies for keeping this tangential topic alive for so long... but it is the cafe... and it is all for a good Haskell related cause...)
The two fonts that are essentially identical are DejaVu Sans Mono and Menlo. Both derive from Vera Sans Mono, and in the ASCII range are different in only a few characters. Turns out that Monaco (older OSX default font) and Ubunutu Mono are also derivatives and very very similar, identical in many characters.
So, perhaps Evan, the reason you didn't like any of them better than the default OS X terminal font is... they were basically the same as the default terminal font! If you want to try something different easily, try Andale Mono, which comes with OS X. If you like that, consider the very similar, but slightly more refined (and bolds better) Source Code Pro.
As for basic color scheme: light-on-dark was represented 2:1 over dark-on-light. But share your suspicion that default settings in the stock terminal emulators may have a lot to do with this.
Ah, the indomitable Mr. Parker, we meet again! While the other "console" fonts were nothing so much as an indiscriminate pile of plundered pixels from the trash can of crufty CRTs.... Your font was of such refined line and design that it clearly marked you as a man of distinction, wealth, fame, power, and fine scotch! A straight sided capital A, sporting a peaked top that actually comes to a point?!?!!! Well played! Game of Baccarat over martinis?
— Mark