I had the exact same situation. A non pillow top sealy posturepedic which was giving me some discomfort. I got a 1" memory foam topper at Linens and Things which has been excellent. I use a mattress pad over it, so no heat is transferred if it exists. The sheets just fit. I got a 1 1/2" memory foam topper for another bed also at Linens and Things and it came with a cover. The 1 1/2" makes some sheets too tight, so you may have to buy deeper ones. It slides around a little more, so I think the one without a cover as long as you use a mattress pad would be better. I also found a pillow which is memory foam core with a down pillow surrounding it, very nice, at Tuesday Morning. Hope some of this helps.

Resources:
Foam By Mail
Monster Mattress

Thanks, sager and mes4444 -- much appreciated. Am now talking DH into it. (-: He's signed on for the new pillows, as opposed to the totally flat KMart polyfill we currently have (stuffing two into a single normal pillowcase works OK, not great). But he's not sure about the mattress topper.

About the subject line on this thread: um, that'd be 1" and 2", not 1 and 2 feet -- though sometimes I do wish I could go for that option!

I've been in the market for a new mattress lately and found a couple of good websites. One is a general what's-the-best-mattress forum that also talks about toppers. It's searchable so you can focus on what you are seeking.

Another interesting resource, though not as objective, is a column I found with question/answer format authored by the owner of a big bedding company in NJ. That is not searchable but does have quite a lot of info on toppers too.

Good luck.

Best topper on the market (you won't like the price!) is the Royal-Pedic 3" Pillowtop Pad. I sell the Queen for $ 868 and they never go on sale.

However, a good topper won't fix a bad mattress. If the ONLY thing wrong with the mattress is that its too hard, the topper will probably work. However, if the mattress has any depression pockets of more than 1" that won't go away after flipping the matt, then its time for a new one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Royal Pedic

Thanks for the input, everyone. Update: I ordered a 1" latex topper from overstock dot com (can't type it the normal way as they used to spam here, and gardenweb doesn't like them!). It's a Sealy, and it's worked well. I might order another 1" at some point and pile them atop each other.

The only problem with my mattress was that it was too firm -- no depressions, no nothing. So the latex is a perfect solution. No heat transfer. I've suggested this to some other forum posters, who've had similar experiences to mine.

Thanks again!

andrea, I also ordered the 1" natural latex topper from overstock and I love it! I was sleeping on the floor since the new bed I bought (had fake latex on top.... outgassed terribly and gave off heat)I was allergic to and I have not had time to look for a new bed yet or to order one and have problems during my busy time of the year. It does not get hot and it cushions my body parts but allows my back to get support from my padded carpet underneath. I also sleep on a natural latex pillow I bought at the same place and love it. I am now thinking of buying a 100% natural latex bed from flowbeds after my busy season when I have time to try out what density of firmness I want.

Has anyone used a dial a number select mattress and how do they compare to a tempedic?

What I did was to get two toppers one is latex and one is memory foam both 1" and there is if valour cover that they both fit in together, that way I can turn it either way up and have a two inch topper, I tend to leave the latex side up however.

Our Memory Foam 2" topper is great. We purchased it in Costco.