which vacuum is the best one to buy between dyson & riccar, or…

Dyson is the best vacuum I have ever owned and I’ve had it for close to 5 years. The amount of money I save from not buying bags or filters has made up the difference in the higher dollar figure I paid for the vacuum. It has the best suction of any vac I’ve ever used. The only complaint I have is it’s pretty big and doesn’t fit under stuff. However, I see they now have a canister vac, so I’m going to possibly get that instead when I need to get a new vacuum. I have a cat and the Dyson is a life-saver. I never have any problems picking up the cat hair.

Here’s what I found on Consumer Reports.
Best uprights for most:

• Kenmore (Sears) Progressive with Direct Drive 35922 , $ 300, CR Best Buy
• Kenmore (Sears) Progressive with Direct Drive 36932 , $ 350

Both Kenmores are top performers. Also consider the lower-priced Hoover WindTunnel Bagless U5753-900 if you’re willing to accept less airflow, more noise, lower brand reliability for uprights, and–as with the Kenmore 36932–emptying a bin.

If less weight is worth some trade-offs:

• Riccar SupraLite RSL3 , $ 330
• Hoover Tempo Widepath U5140-900 , $ 60
• Hoover WindTunnel Supreme U5458-900 , $ 130
• Hoover EmPower U5262-910 , $ 100

The 9-pound Riccar is lightest; also consider the Riccar Supralite RSL4 for its superb carpet cleaning. The Hoovers offer the most value and performance, and the Hoover EmPower folds, though there are more reliable upright brands.

We just got a Shark “Inifinty.” It is supposed to be like a more inexpensive dyson, and we love it. It got somewhat mixed reviews, but we tried it in the store and it was good. We’ve been using it for about 2 weeks, and it is really awesome. We even remodeled and it sucked up ALL the dust and dirt!

I honestly can’t picture a Dyson being much better, but ours only cost $ 200!

Oh, and we have pets, and it sucks up fur wonderfully!