I currently have a Cuisinart that I'm very happy with but I'm in the market for a new toaster oven. Mine is rapidly dying on the vine and using far more electricity than I find necessary. I have been reading all the recommendations I could find regarding toaster ovens. Breville seems to be at the top of the current approval lists at every site I accessed...including Consumer Report...so that's what I'm going to be shopping for. Their microwave oven is equally top rated and if I were in the market for a new one...I'd buy a Breville. All of their counter top ovens are stainless. They're a tad pricier than some brands...but I'm more concerned with performance and longevity. My current toaster oven is entering it's 10th year and if I didn't mind wasting electricity...I could probably get a few more months/years out of it. But I'm too conservation minded to do that. :-)

Mine is a Kenmore with the vent in it over the stove. It's been fine. I had a GE profile stainless steel in my Dallas house, it was fine too. I was just at best buy they had some nice ones on sale. I am looking at the Samsung appliances. I love my Samsung front loading washer and dryer and my Samsung tvs. The scratch and dent department had some nice options, some that had been the display model some that were last year's model. I always check out those I have gotten some fantastic deals. In fact I think I am going back to see if they Still have the dishwasher I was looking at last weekend. It's brand new top of the line all stainless inside too with a small dent in the very bottom left corner which could be popped out. He offered it to me for $200. I don't know why I didn't take it. But we would have had a hard time getting it in the vehicle we were in. It was regular over twice as much.

You may get more responses on the appliance forum. Microwaves are only made by a few manufacturers anymore and generally are not built to last. You'll pay a premium for stainless but the guts are the same. Sharp, Panasonic are some of the better brands. They do make many of the private labeled brands (Dacor is Panasonic....at least it was a few years ago). My cheap-o Panasonic had a door issue and I did a lot of research (again) before buying another. I ended up with a GE Profile countertop MW; it was on sale for a great price. I really wanted the Panasonic Convection/MW (now inverter?) but it was more expensive....

My recommendation would be to get the cheapest one you can find that you like.

Another high recommendation for the Breville TO. Don't know about their microwaves though.

I've had a "few"! I loved my Cuisinart, it lasted 3 years, which is how long the warranty was for. Which has been true for ALL the new ones I've purchased...they lasted the length of the warranty. The over the stove models as mentioned above last longer than counter models in my experience.

Sooooooooooooo.......I went on CL and purchased 2! Paid $30 for the SS Sharp, which was 8rs old when I bought it. I've had it 3 years so far. The little Galanz was $10.

I agree with Dees. Get the cheapest one you like.

Raven....I just did this last house with Samsung. It's very pretty! But the dishwasher was a GE Monogram with interior lighting. I paid $200 for it. It's COOL!

http://www.goedekers.com/GE-Monogram-ZDT975SSJSS.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=pla&utm_campaign=Appliances&zmam=34103103&zmas=2&zmac=1&zmap=GE-Monogram-ZDT975SSJSS&gclid=CLzJ4r_a3MsCFQgaaQodTK8Ocw

Last time I needed one, I got whatever Costco had. Costco has a great return policy if you don't like it.

If you watch for a good price on one 1250 watts, I wonder if you can go wrong. Microwave is something I'm not really particular about. My mother is using a Panasonic (stainless) my brother bought her at Costco. My very first was Amana, back when they cost about $600 and were newly available to home kitchens. I had it for years - and used few of the 'bells and whistles' it had. My next one was Kenmore that cost about $75 and I had that one for years. This house has an Amana again, built into the cabinetry, and its fine...but I use only a couple of the functions and the rest are wasted on me. If it defrosts, heats, I'm good.

My Samsung is over 25 years old and I've attempted to replace it for several years now. This one perfectly fits my 9x13 inch baking dish and doesn't have one of those irritable turntables. I must be able to fit my baking dish in the new one! :)

Right before Christmas, I found a Kenmore on sale for less than $100. They didn't have it in stock on that day and I was going to go back later in the week. I didn't. They now want $189. I just can't! lol

Let us know what you end up with. Please try a 9x13 dish in it!

A 9x13 pyrex with the fingergrip ends (makes the pan width measure almost 15") turns with room to spare in the inexpensive Kenmore countertop I left in my former kitchen, and in the Amana built into this one. Turntables in both. We've just been here 3 years, if the Amana was purchased when this kitchen was updated by the previous homeowner, it would be about 10 years old.

We are looking at one at Best Buy,LG microwave on sale with $50 off. It is called a "full size" with 16" turntable. It will be the biggest one we have ever had. DH decided it woud be great to have one you fit a large lasagna pan in.

morz - yes, mine has the fingergrips, too, but would never rotate on a turntable had my microwave had one. The inside of mine is only slightly deeper than the dish. 12.5 inches high, 20 wide. Wish I could find one exactly this size, and without a turntable. Do they make them anymore without a turntable? That klunkklunkklunk drives me nuts! :)

(The REAL reason I'm having a problem replacing it is because I get very attached to my things and don't want new! lol)

caflowerluver - that one looks nice!

Panasonic Inverter. Mine has a knob for the timer along with the buttons. I have owned two microwaves. Both Panasonic. They made microwaves for Kenmore for a while . Don't know if they do today.

Moonie if your turntable is klunking you need to give it, the bottom of the oven and the wheels a good cleaning. It just takes a tiny crumb or two to make the turntable catch on things. Just like a needle that skips on a tiny scratch on a record player.

watchme - my microwave doesn't have a turntable. I'm talking about other peoples microwaves, when they put in a dish that is too large to turn. Klunkklunkklunk. Yes, Kenmore still makes them. I almost bought one around Christmastime.

Gotcha. The dish is too big. I would never do that so it never occurred to me.

I'll toss in a new idea.... I would suggest a convection/microwave combination so you can get more practical use out of it than just melting butter, heating something, and popping corn. I have a Sharp Convection/Microwave above my stove and I use it far more for baking than I do my oven. In fact, we used it for 4 years in our townhouse, and when we moved into our home we took the new microwave from the house and installed it in the townhouse and brought our Sharp with us.

I can bake 2 loaves of bread in it in 25-minutes and NO pre-heating. A real energy saver. I can stack three 12" pizza pans on the racks (comes in two heights), to bake cookies.

I had a countertop model of a convection/microwave in the 90's and that's why I added one above my stove when we moved.

caflowerluver...my LG microwave lasted exactly one year! It had the coolest feature, express defrost. I just looked at your link...SAME MODEL. THAT microwave was one of my favorites!

If you buy appliances with certain credit cards it doubles the manufacturers warranty.

I hope the one I get lasts more than one year! My first one in 1980 lasted almost 14 years. It was a Amanda Radarange. We got it at a 20% discount because DH worked for Raytheon. The one I am replacing lasted 10 years. It had all the bells and whistles including convection, which I never used. I did use it to cook full meals like home made lasagna and quiche, but never baked anything.

Do you live near Costco? People on GW have reported buying small appliances there because they have a no questions warranty. They just take the thing that doesn't last as long as it should back when it breaks and get a new one. :)

I just left Lowe's they have a major sale on appliances great prices!

Panasonic Inverter. Bought this for DS & BIL. First time BIL used it to reheat pizza he said, "wish I bought a larger pizza because it did such a great job, not soggy or dried out."