Hi Charlie,
In zone7, be prepared to protect the trees.
You live in a free country, so go ahead and try as many as you can.
You should try "Longue d'aout", "Dalmatie" - be prepared for my coming post on that one- , "Madeleine des deux saisons", "Sultane", "Pastiliere", "Ronde de Bordeaux", "Violet de Bordeaux", "Panachée" for the stripes ...
To get a head start to your collection, go lurking at the nurseries for "good" sized trees - if you go through cuttings only, you'll have to wait more.
I consider that for 15$ a figtree, it is worth buying ... But for now, I'm still trying cold hardy strains only.
Buy some bags of fertilizer too !
Are you going in pots or in ground ? Do you have two garages ? You know, an attached FIG-garage !