Well, this is my SAD saga regarding vacuum cleaners! I was married 50 years when my husband passed away last summer, so I have seen A LOT of vacuum cleaners! The one I remember very well is a Sears canister over 20 years ago that cost me at that time about $400.00. It was nothing but trouble. So bad, in fact, that it went in the trash. My Mom also purchased one and so did my best friend. Both of those shortly went in the trash, also. Then came the Hoover Dimension 1000 canister vacuum. I brought it with me in 1988 when we moved to a new location, where we still are now. And the Dimension 1000 still runs! That's nearly 30 years! But the hose desperately needs replacement (as the wiring runs through it to run the power head) but I doubt I can still get the parts. I should have replaced it at the time, when it cost $100.00, but I had no idea how these vacuums were going to go downhill. I have it all taped up with electrical tape, but I'm afraid to use it. So it's sitting in the basement. I still have an older Hoover Windtunnel upright with the "Dirt Finder" that actually works! The entire vacuum works well but it's extremely heavy to push. I found that with the newer ones, the "Dirt Finder" doesn't work--I was actually told that in a Hoover store--and the rest of the machine doesn't work, either. Again, I was told in a vacuum store that the newer Hoovers are no good. Well, that vacuum was sold in my last garage sale for $5.00 and I was glad to be rid of it. Now, to the present time...I purchased a Dyson DC 41 for $600.00 about three years ago and it just quit on me. I hemmed and hawed about what I should get to replace it and I wish I had seen this forum before making a purchase. Believe it or not, I bought another DC 41 because WHEN it worked, it was great! Fortunately, since it now is an older model, it was somewhat less expensive. Now I'm hoping I will have better luck with this one. I also decided it was time to replace my heavy, aging Hoover Windtunnel, and I purchased a Shark Rotator Powered Lift Away (the pet model) for upstairs because I love the ease in which I can get under the bed. This set me back about $350.00, which I didn't think was bad, because I LOVE this vacuum. And I have 7 cats in the house (yes, seven) so I'm glad I got the pet models in both. But I have it less than a month, so only time will tell. Had I seen this forum, I would have looked into the Tacony products, a Simplicity or Riccar. After all, I spent enough money that I could have considered one of those. And there is a vacuum store right up the road from me.

I don't know how you feel about Consumer Reports but their top rated vacs that also had an excellent rating for pet hair (overall score in parenthesis): Uprights (top score 74) Miele Dynamic U1 Twist $450 (72) Miele Dynamic U1 Dog & Cat $650 (72) Kenmore Elite 31140 $200 (71) Kenmore Progressive 31069 $200 (71) Hoover WindTunnel Max UH30600 $180 (70) Canisters (top score 75) Miele Complete C3 Marin $1,100 (75) Kenmore Elite 81714 $400 (73) Kenmore Progressive 21714 $400 (72) Kenmore Progressive 21614 $300 (70)

I'll second the Dyson. We have a floor/rug situation similar to OP (no berber though) and we bought a V8 Absolute about four months ago. It's been worth every penny (and it was a lot of pennies). It has a soft spinning head for hard floors, a brushy one for rugs, and a few other useful attachments as well. There's a high and low switch, and Iow is effective and quieter--and works better on rugs since it doesn't suck onto the fabric. My only complaint is that the exhaust air vents straight out the sides, so if you use it as a hand vac to pick up crumbs or the like you have to be careful not to blow them away before you can suck them up. That being said, I'm yearning for a Miele canister for more thorough cleaning. Our old Kenmore's cord retracts on its own, and it's always driven me nuts veering off to the side and crashing into things instead of pulling along in a straight line. I use it way less since we got the Dyson though.

I have a Miele S7/U1 upright. I absolutely love it. It is a very versatile machine. I do find that other machines have slightly better agitation, but our brushes are fairly dirty though, so they aren't like new. I will tell you though, I do really like the agitation of Shark machines, but I do not care for the bagless design and the poor build quality. Dysons are the same way, but I would much rather buy a Shark. I did my own little test to see how effective the Sharks agitation was buy first running a Kirby on the carpet, then running over the same flooring once again with the Shark. There was very little debris that the Shark picked up. Just proving how effective Kirby's suction is. Our Miele has only clogged twice. One was a pencil and the other was a small piece of wood trim. Eventually dirt, hair, and other debris clogged around the items and reduced suction. It took 1 minute to resolve it each time. Also, I don't have any filters to clean, and when the bag is full, it self seals and no dust is let out anywhere. A box of bags and filters lasts us a year, and through Bed Bath and Beyond is $15.