So as far as I can tell the UNO doesn't support USB host natively in any way, unlike the Due. I've seen some shields but there seem to be a lot of options, does anyone have any recommendations?
Options for doing what ?
Do you want to have a recommendation for a shield ?
Depending on what you want to achieve with you r project, getting a micro controller board that supports USB host mode natively may be e best option.
The Teensy 2 and Teensy++2 support it natively, are much smaller then an UNO and less expensive.
Teensy USB Development Board. They are fully Arduino compatible and come with a large number of examples, including for USB host mode.