I got the 18-200 VR Nikkor lens first month it was out! Same as gasmask & jofotoz have. AWESOME! Love it, wouldn't trade it for anything else. I ended up selling the lens that came with my "kit" (18-55 IIRC) and sold 2 other prime lens I'd been hanging on to.....the 18-200 covers it ALL.

I've tried other brands, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina...but there's nothin' like a genuine Nikon glass! Like you, I do a lot of landscape type pics. The 55-200 would be great, as landscape doesn't usually use the the lower end that much. The 55-200 has a bit lower f/stop (4) vs the 70-300, (4.5)......you may well gain more benefit from that extra stop than from the 200-300 magnification gain. For the $370 difference in price, I think the 55-200 is great. The difference from 55 to 70 is actually fairly noticeable, so the 55 is going to give you more flexibility.

The 55-200 will cover the majority of your needs! But DO stick with the sellers Bart mentioned! I've tried a few of the other "New York" photo houses over the years and have had nothing but nasty New York attitude, non-delivery, bate & switch, up-sell pressure, price discrepancies and off-branded batteries arriving instead of genuine OEM. Never again! (no offense to any NY'ers, but the photo trade there has some tough nuts). B&H is still in NY, but they're a class act.

I do have to say one thing, I have done repeated business with Cameta Camera on ebay (out of NY), & had nothing but A++ experiences. Their feedback reflects that too.

Price compare at some of these places and make sure the C.C. is a real deal. Really can't go wrong with either lens. Good luck!