Repost of Slammer's Rules...

1. Carefully evaluate the size mower you need and buy at least one size larger.

2. NEVER buy a mower from ANYPLACE that will not let you test drive it or at least a similar model. Ergonomics are just as important as performance and capability.
(Vitally important!)

3. DO NOT base your purchase on price or brand name alone! Do proper research and find all of the available models that fit your criteria and haggle, save, or trade to get the right equipment for the job. Do not compromise!

If you follow these three tips you will end up a happy camper with just the right unit for the job. If you disregard this advice your gonna end up with One or the other of the following problems:

A. Buyers remorse. Stuck with a piece of junk or simply a unit inadequate for the task at hand.

Or..

B. A teed off spouse when you start shopping for another tractor just 3 - 6 months down the road because you didn't buy the right unit in the first place.

Now go forth and shop and try and have fun!

And, buy from a registered Dealer, not from a big box store! HD is not a registered dealer, in the way i suggest. Nor is Lowe's or any other big box store!
You will pay more, but in the long run, that purchase will be much better than one from HD, Lowe's, or another big place.
Craftsman tractors seem to hold up well. there are a heck of a lot of them out there, in use every day. Parts are available from Sears Parts! And, they have light duty lawn tractors, and heavy duty lawn tractors, too. I've had some here that do the job well!

If you have to use the HD gift cards then the JD is your smartest choice.

JD lawn tractors at HD are assembled and prepped by the local JD dealer. The local JD dealer will be doing any warranty work that may be required. You'll have access to trained techs and a parts department that has parts in stock and doesn't obsolete parts before the end of the model year... parts will be available for a very long time.

Every other brand at HD comes WITHOUT a local authorized dealer.

Thanks Lurker, good info!

Be careful if you choose from the home improvement stores. Many are stored outside for extended periods. Rain and old fuel are common problems.

My 2 cents....

I agree with "Carefully evaluate the size mower you need and buy at least one size larger". Most of my neighbors bought too small of a lawn tractor trying to pinch on the purchase price.

Automatic transmission is really nice.

You should be very careful to see that the model you buy can be properly maintained. Does it have grease fittings on ALL of the following as a minimum: front wheels, front spindles, all of the blade mandrels?

Having an authorized JD dealer locally is not a good excuse to buy JD from HD. Our local JD dealer NEVER has the part in stock that my JD owning neighbors require. They have to go to the JD dealer...order and pay for the part... then return to get the part after the dealer receives it. A real pain.

One PLUS of any Craftsman mower is that you can type virtually any Sears part number into an eBay search... find, buy and receive the part in two days. You WILL need parts for you new mower....sooner than you think....

OP - one other important thing - that "pretty good slope" you mentioned...
the machines you noted are ALL entry level models (light duty, flat manicured lawns, etc.) Those with hydro or auto trannies are also notorious for early life tranny failures when subjected to heavy loads or hilly terrain.

And here's your change...

"They have to go to the JD dealer...order and pay for the part... then return to get the part after the dealer receives it. A real pain"

Or you can sit on your duff in front of the monitor you're looking at now and go to the JD web site to look up the part you need and see if the local dealer has it in stock. If not in stock then you can order it through your local dealer right then and there.

There are dealers who stock parts and dealers who don't... HD doesn't stock anything and stocks nothing if you own last years model that you bought there.

And how's eBay for those warranty repairs?

Better to have a local dealer if you need or want them than not to have any local support at all.

If you have a slope your better off to stick with a geared transmission. However if you have to have a hydro make SURE that it is a K66 or better. The light duty K46 units aren't durable enough for anything but flat ground.

Designations tell you a lot. LT=Lawn Tractor GT=Garden Tractor. Garden tractors are rated to pull ground engaging implements and lawn mowing is child's play for them. When you get into decks over 42" inches in a Big Box LT your looking at an over powered unit on a light frame that IMHO is NOT the best way to go on anything but a flat "not to big" yard.

I just sold an old Craftsman GT 6000 that I'm sure will still be running 10 years from now.

Unless you get into commercial duty, zero turn units are the repair centers best friend. Children's college educations are being paid for by the fathers repairing these machines.

Craftsman mowers have been recommended. I second that. I have not been skunked yet on parts availability from Sears. Ebay is also a great place for Craftsman parts as well as others.

If your going to keep the machine for years and want a large deck figure on an up scale model that has the heavier components. It will cost you $3500+

If price is a big consideration buy an inexpensive 38 or 42 geared transmission model built By MTD. $999. These units mow just as good as the $1300/$1400 JD's and Cub Cadets and give less problems. You don't need 20 HP for a 42" deck.

My 2 cents.

What say you?

For an acre, get a used commercial ZTR mower. For $2 K you will find one with low hours. It will be the last mower you will buy.