I was going to go with black also because I was concerned about fingerprints. Then I found out about Sheila Shine stainless steel cleaner. I just apply it every few weeks (takes 3 minutes total) and rarely does a fingerprint show. I do think the stainless would scratch easier though.

There have been several complaints here (or on the Kitchen forum) that black appliances show streaks unless carefully dried after wiping down. Another complaint I've heard about black is that every speck of dust shows--almost immediately after wiping down! I suspect, though, that dust is more of an issue for horizontal appliances.

I'm not one to fuss either and I would never get black again, my appliances always look streaked, dusty or a combo of both. I'm going for paneled appliances in the new house.
Jenn

My DW is black and the refrigerator is stainless. I rarely have to pay attention to the DW whereas I do notice fingerprints on the 'frig. My cooktop is black ceramic and it does tend require more attention than any of the other finishes on my appliances.

I have all black appliances and I love them. I occasionally see a fingerprint on the fridge, but it is easily wiped off.

All my appliances are black, although the top of the stove is stainless... The black is the "gloss" black vs the textured black. I wipe them down with a microfiber cloth and have never have spot, dust, finger print problems...

Now, the refridgerator, which died Thanksgiving day, is being replaced in stainless, as DH did NOT like the black texture, so he picked stainless... Time will tell with that.

Black appliances will always look dusty in natural light. If you have large windows in your kitchen, Stainless appliances will look cleaner but you will need some type of stainless cleaner. Also, stainless will show all scratches which can be difficult to get out.

I have a black induction cooktop and while it will show streaks, it's never been dusty (the rest of my house, on the other hand,...). We have a faux stainless refrigerator (it came with the house) which shows all sorts of prints and stains but the stainless wall oven is pretty easy to clean.

When we redo the kitchen, we'll probably go with a mix of black and stainless steel. Vertical surfaces will be stainless (e.g., refrig, oven) while horizontal surfaces will be black (e.g., cooktop).

We're just coming to SS,... the DW was first and we just got the frige in last week. I must say it adds another dimension to our kitchen which is a welcome. The only thing that concerns me is the warping on the SS doors,... looks like a Fun House Mirror. I'm thinking it's not a characteristic of SS because I haven't noticed this on other SS friges,... just mine! I like the black though, especially the few black glass appliances I've seen. I will say this,... it took almost an hour to clean all the prints and smudges off after the delivery. Hope that's not a preview of what's to come!

I think SS is hard to clean when brand new. I moaned and moaned. Maybe it was a greasy protective coating that disappeared after a short time. It's not bad at all now.

I like that "Fun House Mirror", Ericpd. Some brands have straight and perfectly flat SS doors, others have slightly rounded fronts. My KA fridge is slightly rounded, but my KA dishwasher is perfectly flat. Neither is shiny enough to be confused for a mirror though...they have a satin finish.