http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0509/ANR-0509.pdf
I found this, but there are 60 odd trees, which are the hardiest of the ones in here. I want something that is going to last, is a solid tree and looks nice.
Your first post indicated that you want shade, your last post mentions a solid hardy tree. So you want a deciduous hardwood. That decision cuts the choices down considerably. Now you need to find out or tell us if you live on low flat land or are there a lot of hills because Alabama has both. Either way an oak tree is one that I would consider. Some species grow faster than others and they come in many different sizes and shapes. They also drop acorns everywhere. Live oaks are as hard a wood as you can find. Do you know how far down the water table is?
I'm not an expert on Alabama but I'm pretty sure there aren't many places that don't have oaks of some variety.
Sycamore might grow well there too. I personally would not want a Sycamore, but many people do.
They can get very large, but drop large leaves that travel well in the wind and are kind of difficult to collect. I don't think the wood is as hard as an oak tree but they grow faster then most oaks.
Laural oaks are also very popular, have small leaves and come in different vareties and differnt sizes.
Camphor tree are extremely hard, very hardy, can grow in many differnt shapes depending on how they are pruned. I have seen one with a trunk that is 5' in diameter, the drip line was maybe 200' across, probably 80 years old. I don't know if they grow at your latitude or not. Camphor trees are non native and considered invasive in some areas. They might even be laws against them in your state. They look like an oak tree, similar to live oak with small leaves
About.com has a guy who will tell you everything you want to know about trees. Your choices are many.
Here's a link to the Arbor day foundation website. It's a zone map. Check around on this site it has a lot of useful information. Take your time with this decision, do your home work so your tree wil meet your expectations.
http://www.arborday.org/treeinfo/zonelookup.cfm
Here is a link to to about.com
http://forestry.about.com/bio/Steve-Nix-1392.htm
Good luck
RB