A lot of controversy with running shoes these days. Apparently, even with all of our advanced shoe technology, runners have a higher injury rate than ever before. Some people suggest that the high injury rate is because most new shoes provide too much support and encourage people to run with awful form because their shoes are too forgiving and they can't tell that they're doing it wrong.
Barefoot running has been around for a while, some barefoot lady even won the olympics in the 60s I think, but now it's a movement. As a result, there are a lot of minimalist running shoes that have come out recently(Nike Free for example) and people seem to like them OK.
A word of warning: if you switch to a minimalist shoe or barefoot, you can't just keep running at your current rate or you will hurt yourself, guaranteed. You would need to transition with short runs and build up gradually.
i guess that wasn't really a recommendation, just something to consider. also, here's the book that added fuel to the fire of the barefoot running movement:
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307279189/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365050325&sr=8-1&keywords=born+to+run