Sorry for the mistake in the title

Franklin and News Gothic both have some of the same feel as Brown

Thanks for the suggestion! I was already thinking about Franklin too, and News looks very decent as well. The problem relies a lot around that different kind of "a" (I don't know how it's called). It gives the Brown type a "Futura/retro" feel. Also, I don't want to use futura as I have been using it waaay too much in my recent projects...

Whatwhatwhat? Neither Franklin Gothic nor News Gothic is anything like LL Brown.

He was looking for a nice looking sans - I did not think he wanted a clone.

Well, "that could replace" doesn't exactly mean "anything goes"...
And you did say "same feel"...

hhp

Maybe Proxima Nova, using the alternate monocular 'a'?

So Hrant, have you ever really looked at Franklin Gothic and News Gothic - feel is different than same as, and may be a more personal response.

You lost me.

hhp

Thank's a lot guys. Proxima nova seems nice. But, I'll have to find out if the alternative "a" can bet set in a web font context. Hmmmm, something tells me you can't...

Why can’t you use LL Brown? http://lineto.com/Lineto.com/Lineto+Webfonts/

Don’t forget the Brown from which Lineto plagiarized the name of its typeface.