Street cred doesn't mean jack. Both types are somewhat useless in the outside world. The 1900 can only be found in a handfull of freight operations and Great Mistakes, the Metro being very similar. They are very similar in terms of their credibility in the industry, at least from people I have talked to. The only people who make the Metro a big deal are the people that have flown them. Either airplane is a great choice, they are both a typed airplane, can be flown single pilot, and do what they do well. The 1900 can't really get you into a KA off the street but the cockpit, and flying characteristics are probably very similar.