I bought my father this 2000W Honda:

http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/ModelDetail.asp?ModelName=eu2000i

It's 2000W peak and 1600W running. I mainly bought it so he could run it in the RV campground. They are super-quiet; 53-59 db. Normal conversation is something like 58 db. It will run for 16 hours at 1/4 throttle. The great thing about it is that it weighs only 50 lbs so it is extremely portable. Even better: you can hook two of them up in tandem to produce 4000W peak and 3200W running.

They are expensive. I paid $869.00 two years ago. I think they are up around $1000 now. There are other brands that are much cheaper, but they are also much heavier and noisy. Strictly for a survival scenario they might be worthwhile though.

I think that with any generator you choose, they must be "exercised", that is, run under load for about an hour per month. This keeps the windings in good shape. (Maybe somebody with electrical training can chime in about that.) So it is a good idea to keep it gassed up and ready to go. Just make sure you add Sta-bil gas stabilizer to the gasoline and you'll be set.

Regards, Vince