I'm going to answer the original question as posed. You choose a Windows laptop by process of elimination, kind of like the Mac/PC commercials show. The commercial was snarky but not far from the truth. With the breadth of the field you have to choose from this is the only way to do it.
First, establish your budget and eliminate everything not in that range. "Solid" is the $400-800, "awesome" range is $800-1500, "gigitty" range is $1500+. Loosely.
Non-negotiable specs: 4GB RAM, Windows 7.
Can go either way: Intel i5/7 or Core 2 Quad - Core 2 Duo 2GHz+ if you must - as your budget allows. For general use it doesn't make much difference at this point. (Its been a long time since I've had any computer where I felt like the processor was the bottleneck in a general purpose machine's performance.)
Find out if there are any features she can't do without, like backlit keyboard (I didn't think it was a big deal but now I'll never go back.), trackpoint, super thin, super light, super long battery life, etc. With Windows PCs the bewildering array of machines is usually the result of one unique feature per model line. For every new feature a manufacture comes up with they build a model line around it. If you find out what particular things she just can't do without then a couple models may jump out of the crowd.
When you've narrowed the field down to a few models check the manufacturer forums and sales outlets feedback and see if you can spot any patterns in the complaints or kudos. Random gripes and generally worded pooh-poohing don't mean a thing...anything that pops up repeatedly is a problem that will eliminate a model from consideration.
At this point you should have it narrowed down to a handful of machines. Pull out the one machine you think is styled best for each unique or cool feature. Present the short list, along with the best pics you can find so she can see styling, to your wife and have her pick.