Just my findings through research (and I've reached research overload and paralysis!)...J D Power rates the following as the top three brands customers are satisfied with: Sub-Zero, Samsung, LG. Whirlpool is above avg. KitchenAid is below avg. GE is at the bottom. LG has a 7 to 10 yr warranty on its "sealed system," which I THINK means the compressor. LG has a different kind of compressors than the other brands. There aren't that many places that service LG. I live in a big city, and there is only one authorized service center near me. There is another one in a suburb. Next, there is one in some small town miles from me. Whereas, I would bet there are a LOT of auth. service centers for Whirlpool and other brands. There are a lot of complaints out there about LG's service. My review of big box store customer reviews showed me a lot of highly rated LG fridges. Very few highly rated GEs. Some highly rated Whirlpool/Maytags. Samsung gets high customer reviews, but sadly for me. almost no Samsungs of reasonable cf will fit in my space. Samsungs are larger than most other fridges. LG fridges are generally a smidgeon shorter than other fridges, so there are more LGs that will fit in my space. More efficient use of space? For the same cf, I can get an LG that's a tad shorter, a tad less deep, and the same width as a Samsung or Whirlpool or whatever. There also seems to be this thing with a wide pantry drawer, which steals space from the veggie/fruit bins. I need the normal to deep veggie/fruit bins and would not use a pantry drawer. That lets out most french doors for me, and forces me to stick with single door units. It's very confusing. I'm wondering if I shouldn't just find one I like the looks of, fits in my space, and has the cf I need, and get it. I may or not get a lemon. There are complaints for every brand out there, and a "I'll never buy another [insert name of any brand here] again" review for every brand I've seen. BTW, post above is correct....GE and then LG have the highest repair record for bottom freezers WITH AN ICEMAKER, while Whirlpool and Kitchenaid and Maytag have the fewest. For bottom freezers w/o an icemaker, Kenmore and then LG have the fewest repairs, while GE and Amana have the most. (I guess that means it's the icemakers that are the problem with LG; since I wouldn't be using an icemaker, I wonder if that means LG would be reliable?) For side by sides, the brands with best reliability are Whirlpool, Maytag, Samsung. The least reliable is LG. It's very confusing.

well, I'm a little out of breath, having just run all the way back to the appliance store, but I did bite the bullet and buy it, and my KD seconded your collective advice. I think it's a thing of beauty, but I did pop the extra for the 5-year extended warranty, just in case. Thanks so much for the advice and moral support. I really needed something to narrow my choices anyway, 'cause my head was swimming in that "range or cooktop/oven, gas or induction" vortex. Now on to that induction cooktop decision!

Thanks for the help! I couldn't fix a gas dryer, so I appreciate everyone's input. I ended up going to a local appliance store. They had a brand new (never used- never left the store) scratch and dent that had just a small dent on the side that wasn't even scratched. It was a little more than the Sears dryer, but it wasn't a return and it was in perfect shape otherwise and obviously never used. Many of the returned dryers Sears had were obviously used- lint in the filter, and one was really messed up on the inside. (paint discoloration, big wad of dog hair between the drum and dryer, some weird goop inside, etc) They were also pretty battered. Maybe the Sears delivery truck crashed?

I had a similar experience about 5 months ago when I had a new Samsung French Door delivered from Lowe's. I had ordered a model without water & ice in the door, and the day before delivery I got a call saying that the model had been backordered. They offered me a free upgrade to the model with water & ice in the door. I didn't really want that, but said ok since they couldn't give me an ETA on when the model would be delivered. I didn't notice the dent until after the installers left. I called my local store where I purchased the fridge, talked to the guy that I had delt with the day before and later that day the delivery guys came back with a new door, replaced it in about 5 minutes, and I was a happy camper. I know my experience may not be typical of dealing with a big box store, but I got a great deal on the fridge ($1250 for a 25 cf model) and was very happy with the way they handled both problems.