Recent threads have covered much of what you are asking. I will summarize briefly, but you should search the threads. 1. Bertazzoni: Of course you can cook a turkey in it. How big turkey do you want to cook in it? Several recent threads on Bertas. 2. Blue Star: Cleaning has been debated to death. Some hate it, some say it is very easy. Go see one in person and see what you think. Many, many postings about Blue Stars here and they cover virtually anything anybody would to know about what owners think of them. What has not been answered for you? Do you even care? I mean, if you hate the looks, what more is there to say? 3. Culinarian. Yeah, it is expensive. So, if it is not in the budget, that solves the problem right there, doesn't it? Check out the new stove recommended above. 4. AR Performer: not a lot of reviews? Again, what more is there to say? 5. NXR: at least three recent, long running and very detailed threads (plus numbers of other shorter ones). As with the Blue Stars, detailed discussion of virtually anything you would want to know about what owners think of this least expensive pro-style 30" all-gas stove. What is it you want to know that is not already covered? 6. Five Star: Seems like it got more discussion here and at Chowhound about five or six years ago. The GW search engine only turns up the most recent (and rather skimpy) discussions. A google search (with gradenweb in the search string) will often turn up the older threads that somehow get overlooked by the GW search box. Here's about all I can recall from my recent stove shopping ordeal. Five Stars are made by Brown Stove Works. This is their premium priced line. Once upon a time, Viking outsourced its stove production to Brown. When that relationship ended, Brown started the Five Star line as its own pro-style stoves. Seems to me that the Five Star was originally aimed at the niche that NXR now fills. My recollection is that the base 30" model is now about $3k (about half again more than the NXR). Another $600 gets you sealed sealed burners and a convection oven, which is above your budget. Also, IIRC the 30-inch models have black burner pans on the stovetop which (a) strike me as likely to be pain to keep clean and (b) if you hate the look of the Blue Star, you will likely hate the Five Star look, too. This post was edited by JWVideo on Tue, Jan 22, 13 at 17:45

Sealed burners have taken a real beating here on GW by all the open burner fan-boys. I too, wondered if I hadn't missed out on something after I installed a DCS AG. Then those same fan-boys posted Youtube videos of how "easy" it is to clean their cooktops, which absolutely convinced me I had made the correct choice. Firstly, all sealed burner ranges are not created equal. I'm willing to admit that there likely are ones that distribute their flame pattern up the sides of pots, and cook spills/overflows into carbonized cement on their burner decks. But I don't have one of those. I have a DCS. It has two sizes of burners - 17.5K BTU, and 12.5K BTU. My smallest pot is 6" in diameter and the flames of the smaller burner stay under its base, even on max. My other pots/pans are 8" or larger, and I use them on the larger burners. All burners are capable of very low simmer - perfect for rice, sauces, or holding extras for 2nd helpings. I mostly clean the deck with a damp sponge. Sometimes I need to use a plastic scrubby first, and very occasionally, something requires scouring with Bar Keeper's Friend. The burner heads come apart really easily, but I've seldom needed to do so to clean up. The oven has an infra-red broiler, convection fan, and rolling racks. I've never noticed how hot the door gets, but I'm sure I'd have burned myself often if it overheated. I'm not the only DCS owner who posts here, and we are all very happy with our ranges.

The differences between gas and and electric- In many places you will read that gas is moist heat due to the release of water as part of the products of combustion and that electric is dry. In reality, the products of combustion require more ventilation and are vented out so the gas ends up dry. Electric ovens are not as ventilated so they hold moisture from what you are cooking. The moisture is helpful the first part of the baking cycle for cakes and breads. It helps the rise and makes the surface texture better. The second part of the baking process is better dry as it helps with browning and crispness. This can be accomplished in the electric oven by opening the oven briefly and turning on the convection mode. Some commercial gas ovens use steam injectors to overcome the dryness. The electric oven may also have a narrower range of temperature. This is often the reason baking forums give for using electric ovens. You would need to check the actual specs on the thermostat. The typical oven has a swing of 25 degrees on either side of the set temperature, but some electric ovens have a s little as 2 degrees. As far as long preheats, this is a good thing because it takes that long to preheat the bulk of the oven which can contribute to even heating(radiant) as much if not more than the convection. Even when ovens have a rapid preheat and show they are "at temp", they still require time to come to stabilize and come to full heat. Electric ovens also can have a third convection element which is a benefit when the oven is full in keeping the heat even. Gas ovens usually only have a fan. KA and Wolf have dual fans and elements in their ovens. I have a Wolf 36 inch DF and it heats very evenly. I think the dual fans is helpful in the 36 inch size. I had a previous range with just one fan and it heated very unevenly but it might just have been that brand. Electric ovens often have self clean while only a few gas ovens do. Electric ovens can have modes that are beneficial for various types of baking and roasting. They can direct the heat from the top or bottom more. I have baked with gas and electric and both will work and you can find all kinds of people with success with both. I would probably go with electric for baking cakes though. Convection is also another issue as some people use it for all baking. I do not, but just use it where I see it as a benefit. The rapid heat transfer can cause the outside of the cake to rise more than the inside. This may vary oven to oven depending on the force of the air and how often the fan come ons. It is a learning curve oven to oven. I have a Wolf DF range and an Electrolux wall oven. Both function very well and in a similar way, except the Electrolux does not have an all convection mode. It bakes evenly without it. The Wolf also bakes very evenly on the convection bake mode and the regular bake mode as well so I have never really used the all convection mode. I used a Profile oven this past summer and the convection fan came on and off and the temperature setting were not as versatile as my ovens at home. Also had the Dacor Discovery ovens 5 years ago and they never worked right and they bought them back, but the third element was a detriment in that oven as it burned stuff on the side facing the back. People seem to like Wolf and Electrolux ovens on these forums but there are some others. Search the brands you are considering on the bottom of the main appliance page. Good Luck with your decision.

AVOID MIELE RANGES. UNRELIABLE UNITS. TERRIBLE SERVICE. We've had Miele dishwashers for literally decades; they have been great, trouble-free performers. Not so the 36" gas range that we bought for a kitchen reno in 2016. The design is nice and the basic functionality is great, but the reliability is the absolute pits. MIele released this line of products before they were ready for prime time. And Miele knows it. We have had burners replaced several times for ignition failures. Last time around the technician replaced all six burners with "upgrades" (I'm guessing, redesigns that cure the faults of the original burners). The little part that detects when the oven door is closed and shuts off the broiler if it's open? It melted when the (extremely hot) broiler was on for more than a few minutes. The rubber feet for the grates constantly disintegrate; we've gone through literally a dozen of them. And now that our unit is out of warranty, Miele wants $32 each for replacements (and there are no aftermarket parts available anywhere). The latest problem is the oven door latch mechanism, which has failed so that the unit will not go into self-clean mode. Making matters worse, Miele's service operation was gutted during the pandemic and has not recovered. Their call center is offshore somewhere, and the people are clueless about the products. As for the technician dispatch in NJ ... don't get me started. Totally dysfunctional. The techs themselves are highly competent ... when you can actually get someone to come. Constant scheduling screwups, technicians not being told what parts to bring, several week lead times, etc. Their service is beyond unacceptable for a premium-priced brand. And we have yet to find a third-party repair service that will work on Miele ranges (dishwashers yes, ranges no). I'm sorely tempted to throw the thing out and go with Blue Star or Wolf. AVOID.