i havent tried the AO shampoos. the only thing i tried from that line is the GBP conditioner, which I liked a lot.
with the answers you got from this thread, it does seem like organic shampoos are very drying.
i used the Giovanni Direct shampoo and although it claimed to be moisturizing, it was everything BUT that. It left my hair hard and so awfully tangled! worse than a clarifying shampoo, although you don't feel that the hair is clarifyied, it's just a tangled mess.