What is your budget? You will need to spend a little more to get a machine that will last ten years. The entry level units look nice in the store but in 4-5 years they will likely need frequent repairs.
Is a clean manicured lawn important to you? The cheaper machines will not deliver here. The link is to a reasonably priced quality machine that is a good size for your yard.

Here is a link that might be useful: Snapper RER

I would agree that Snapper is a good choice (especially since you're in Alabama, should be a lot of dealers around). I would check with the dealer when looking at any machine about the amount of force it takes to work the clutch or any other foot operated function on the mower. I have a neighbor who is regretting the purchase he made (a Craftsman with a manual transmission) because it is very difficult for him to press the clutch (he has a bad knee also). Make sure the dealer is aware of this need.

The box store mowers will last 10 years if properly maintained and your lawn is less than an acre. You didn't mention the size of your front yard.

Since your husband has knee problems, I suggest that you buy a mower with a hydro transmission. You may want to consider a hand operated hydro rather than one that is foot operated. Foot operated hydros are more intuitive to operate but a hand operated unit may be more comfortable for your husband.

-Deerslayer

I should add that he Snapper RER has a clutchless, hand operated transmission. I also agree that it would be a good choice for your situation.

-Deerslayer

Let me just start by saying, wow, what a fantastic gift! And the fact that you had the sense to check here means you WILL buy the right one.

Just in case you don't know the lingo, RER stands for Rear Engine Rider, and hydro is short for hydrostatic (automatic).

What is your budget? "Not too expensive" can be anywhere from $500-5,000, depending on who you're talking to.

Is your husband a yard guy? Or is taking care of the lawn nothing more than a chore, like vacuuming and dusting? If you're just looking to make a tedious task less bothersome, then I'd look at a Craftsman, Husqvarna or Cub Cadet in the $1300-1700 range. If he's proud of his lawn and truly enjoys maintaining it, you might want to look at the $2,000 and up Simplicity Regent or the $2800 and up John Deere X300 line. I would not recommend a John Deere LA series. That's all I'm going to say about that. My parents have a Snapper RER and they're not exactly thrilled with it, but it does the job.

If you go with a premium John Deere or Simplicity, one attachment that you absolutely should get is a front-mounted dethatcher. Bermudagrass, especially Hyrbrid Bermudagrass, has a tendency to choke itself out and develop a heavy thatch if not tended to annually. The dethather scrapes up the dead layer of stamens in new growth tends to root, making it highily susceptable to drought and generally unhealthy. Once that's cleared away, the new growth can root itself in solid ground. Maybe if you can't get the dealer to flex on the price of the tractor as much as you want them to, they could give you a deal on a dethatcher.

Here is a link that might be useful: simplicity regent

dfcslim.... you are a great wife!!! I hope your hubby appreciates you... What a thoughtful present. I must get you to hang around with my wife for a while, might rub off on her... lol.
Knowing your budget would be helpful. $1500 is kinda the average starting price for a decent machine but as you go up in cost, so does convenience and comfort... The cheaper machines are generally lighter with cheaply made components that dont hold up well to heavy use. But if he is only going to use it lightly then they'd be fine. I'd recommend you go get some advice from your local dealer, even go to the big box stores, you'd never know you might find someone that actually knows about the equipment. Sit on some different mowers for yourself, if you find one comfortable, he probably will find it comfortable too. The advice above about hydro transmission is good. I have belt drive transmission and it can be a fight sometimes...

Best of luck and well done...

Q

Thanks so much to you all....I have a better picture of what is needed.....hydro will be much better for him and it looks like with your recommendations I will be in about the $2000 range. I started out with looking at the zero turn mowers and was blown away at the prices....we don't need zero turn and your recommendations will help out alot to narrow down to the best choice for him.

Don't embarrass him and get him the pink one with the daisy on the hood!

If he's only going to mow lawn, I'd look at the "lawn mowers", rather than tractors.

Below is a link, which might help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Consumer guide

You might also give some thought about where you're gonna store the rider when not in use. Ideally, it should be kept indoors (shed, garage, etc), but I think some folks also keep them outside with a tarp covering them from the elements. Just a thought.

Don't make it a "surprise" birthday gift. If he is going to be the one riding it, he should make sure whatever model you go with is comfortable for him, and if possible should take it for a test drive. Unfortunately, I think the best mower for your situation will be a Craftsman with hand operated hydro, and they don't usually allow you to drive them up and down the clothing aisles.

Somehow I just knew marineguy would not recommend the LA series , there's not a damn thing wrong with them if you use them for mowing like they were made for and keep them serviced. Some people just don't need to tear the ground up or other heavy duty stuff. I don't know why you think a $1300-$1700 range Craftsman , Husq or Cub would be any better than a JD LA series. It's very rare if you make a post without slamming the LA series , maybe a LA ran over your foot one time or something is why you hate them so much. I don't care that much for VWs either but I don't knock them everytime I open my mouth. If you don't like the LA series that's fine & dandy and Im sure by now everyone on the forum knows that you hate them. Have a nice day and THANK YOU for serving our country.

The LA Series doesn't offer a hand operated hydro (her husband has bad knees per OP's post), so they may not be the best in this case.

Oh come on Duke88! That was as watered down as I could make it. I didn't say anything bad about the LA series, just that I wouldn't recommend it.

No my foot was never run over by an LA series, but my L100-wheeling neighbor did cut two feet into my front lawn one time while trimming around a mutually owned tree, scalping the heck out of my Bermudagrass as the edge of the mower dipped in the turn. Maybe that was the root cause.

I don't much care for VWs these days either, but seven years ago I did, and I just can't seem to wear that Jetta out. Seven years and 100k miles of running it through the gears to redline, and the clutch is still tight, lifters don't make any noise, still rides like it's on rails. Basically the only difference between that car when I bought it new and now is a couple of scratches and a broken hinge on the center armrest--oh, and a small indentation roughly the shape of my left buttcheek from when I fell off my workbench and landed on the C-pillar. Don't ask why I was standing on my workbench; let's just say I didn't think that one through. I guess having Mobil 1 since 1,001 miles and always being garage kept has helped a bit, but it's a good car. And you've got to give props to the Germans for getting 150hp out of a 1.8L engine (the 2002 model put out 180 with a slightly larger turbo) while still maintaining reliability. By that math, my Yukon should be putting out 530hp!

*****

I have to kind of agree with Metal... Unless your husband's been talking about buying a mower, and you have a really good idea what he would like, suprising him might not be the best way to go. My neighbor's wife bought him a new-style Mustang as a welcome home from Iraq gift (with his money--she doesn't work). It was a lime green six cylinder automatic. He absolutely hated it.

I agree, get the husband a nice card and give him a budget with ideas from this site and put them in the card. As stated before awesome that you are going to do this for your husband and he is a lucky man. Be sure to post what mower is decided on...

far out...what a gal...but a 58 corvette would really put a smile on his face...maybe?

Maybe you could get him a card and enclose a check written out to your local John Deere dealership, for $2899, and in the memo write: for John Deere X300. Then print the photo off www.johndeere.com on glossy photo paper, cut it out and enclose that as well. The check would be purely ceremonial, not factoring sales tax or the possibility of brokering a better deal, but it would get the point across.
Of course you could also do that with a Simplicity, Craftsman, Husqvarna, Cub Cadet, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: x300

tmajor,

I checked out that link for the mower reviews. Initially I was distracted by their article on grass. Did you know corn is a grass? I didn't. Also, I should have said "stolons" in my earlier post, not "stamens."

I'm always a bit skeptical whenever I see someone claiming to be an expert on anything. This is what I read in their "expert" review on a Simpliciy Coronet:

"The Coronet 13/30 is powered by an adequate 13-hp Briggs & Stratton overhead-valve (OHV) two-cycle one-cylinder engine that is less noisy than many other mower engines."

Wow, it must really suck to have to mix gas before each mow! And I wasn't aware they'd invented a "less noisy" 2-cycle engine. It's funny how this poster got so in depth on such insignificant details such as the deck thickness and maximum speed in reverse, but he screwed up reporting on one of the most basic components, the FOUR-cycle (suck-push-bang-blow, aka Otto cycle) engine. It's called proofreading. We all learned it in the third grade.

Incidentally, the grass article was very informative; obviously authored by a different expert.

Just some useless trivia: a turbine engine works on the Brayton Cycle, with intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust occurring simultaneously and continuously, with ignition provided by the perpetual flame in the combustion chamber. The ignitors only fire during startup, and the only way to turn the engine off is to cut the fuel. If this happens by accident, it's known as a flameout.

Here is a link that might be useful: coronet

Hmmm ... Simplicity's site doesn't say anything about it being 2-cycle. The oil might be "injected" or whatever it's called, so that manual mixing isn't required.

I re-read your post again... it's late. I see what you are saying, regarding the misprint, as well as the OHV. I'm guessing, no 2-cycles have OHV. The snowmobile, chainsaw and weed whacker engines, that I've seen, were all reed valved, .. I think. It's still "late"!

Johnson outboards have 2-strokes that exceed EPA standards and have the high power to weight ratio. They were acquired by Bombardier who makes the 2-stroke Rotax I use in my little airplane.