I have been going through a similar experience. I have been coming up with many of the same concerns. I saw a show on television a couple weeks ago that used recycled glass for the counter top and it showed how you can choose your shades of glass to get a solid color or mix it to get a look you like. I have not followed up on that process in person yet but it may be a process you might want to look into.. I also like quartz. It is a much more environmentally friendly product than granite and not busy like granite and I think you can get it with a less polished surface so it is not so shiny. One thing making my decision a challenge is that I currently have a marble look solid surface Corian countertop. It has been in my kitchen for over 35 years. 35 years ago a solid surface instead of a laminate surface was pretty cool and at the time a bit of a splurge. It is easy to work on, has no chips or cracks, all I have ever done is wash it with LOC and a sponge after cooking meals. There is one slightly darkened spot where my husband set a pan that was on fire directly on the surface.  I have always loved it because it has the look of an ivory marble without the high gloss. My kitchen is pretty classic. After 35 all I have to do to update my kitchen is put new handles on the cupboards and darken the countertops to create a slightly more dramatic look. I was considering real stone because of being older, that should one of us die, or we should decide to downsize  the current brainwashed mentality that a kitchen is not a kitchen without stone might make the house easier to sell. I want to be more green so I did not consider granite at all. I think with the green trend, granite will be way out of style in just a few years. I heard from a friend recently, who wondered why I was looking at counter material because there was nothing wrong with my current counters, that the color in Corian can be changed to a solid. So having read unhappy complaint after complaint about most counter products, changing my color would certainly save money and I would get to continue to live with a really easy to care for product. At my age I know that there are many more fun ways to spend time than cleaning the kitchen. Hope you find a product that works. IÂll keep checking back to see what answers you come up with.

Yup-pics help a bunch-both the granites and the current kitchen. Whatever you choose, make sure that the granite looks good in your kitchen. Sounds like stupid advice, but it's so easy to be seduced by a gorgeous stone-one that would look great in someone else's kitchen but only so-so in yours. If you can, bring home a sample for color comparison. If you can't do that, do bring a door of each cabinet color to lay beside the slab and take a photo.

Hey 2LittleFishies, I too love marble, but don't much mind the wear patterns it develops. I've been in houses with 60 year old soap stone and find it quite charming. Heck, I've been in houses with 200 year old marble counters - and still find the wear quite charming. My own Victorian has soapstone around the heat registers. They're a little dinged up but quite beautiful in my opinion. I have a large, cutting board, bit of carrara marble that I use to roll out dough - maybe start with that and see where it takes you. Don't know how old your house is but one of the good things about an older home is that nothing is really perfect and if it is perfect it looks rather out of place. So...things look fine when they are a little worn. I remember going to England and staying in a house that was built in the 1400s - wear just means people have come before you and will come after you, it is a good reminder. So get what you like and what you want. If wear patterns and noticeable age on your counters isn't what you want get something else. Remember, even durable things break, pit and fall apart.

Thank you for the response, I received mine from M Teixiera and from pictures their soapstone never appeared to have a gloss look. I took some sandpaper to them, but they continue to shine. Put some beeswax, mineral oil and still the same thing. Peridot44, I was expecting the old high school science lab top! I can remember how they feel and that was a long time ago. Marble_com, that is what I have, a sample. Expecting a warm, smooth finish, not cold, hard, and shiny. It feels nothing like I expected. Doc, I will call them tomorrow and ask about it. Thanks!