I live on the north side of Chicago and want to put an outdoor TV
antenna on my roof. In Chicago, most of the TV signals come from one
of two buildings downtown, the John Hancock Center and the Sears Tower.
I am between 6 and 7 miles from each of these buildings. The Sears
Tower lies 30 degrees east of directly south of me (or at 150 degrees
on a compass) and the John Hancock Center lies approximately 42 degrees
east of directly south of me (or 138 degrees on a compass). Radio
Shack offers two antennas that I'm considering:

1.80" boom length,
32 element antenna
90 mile VHF range
70 mile UHF range
HDTV compatible
$60

2.50" boom length
18 element antenna
75 mile VHF range
50 mile UHF range
does not mention HDTV compatibility
$40

I have a clear view of both buildings. From what I understand, the
longer the range of an antenna, the narrower the angle of reception. I
would go for number 1 above because of the HDTV compatibility (don't
have a TV set yet, but plan to buy one in the future), but I don't know
if it would be hard to pick up the transmissions from both buildings.
I don't really want to get a rotator, because (I hate to admit it) I
switch channels quite often and I don't know if a rotator is ideal for
someone like that.

Does anyone have any suggestions for either one of the antennae?

Thanks.