What are the differences between wood and composite shoe molding?
I would go with the wood. It will paint &amp; caulk better. Some of the PVC stuff doesn't cut well on a chop box, has a tendency to break and may crack with larger nails. PVC just looks cheap when its up, you can tell its plastic.

If the composite is MDF, I would buy that over wood. MDF is cheaper, and usualy straighter pieces. It also paints nicely. The only time I might choose wood over MDF is if I were staining the molding.