I love my Miele Callisto. I bought in in December from a local dealer. Here's the big CON: It's pricey. I paid a little under $1000 for it (bought some exta bags too.)

PROS:
-7 year warranty on motor and body, 1 year on attachments
-It's quiet - I can run it during the baby's nap.
-It cleans both medium pile carpet and tile very well (those are the two flooring types in my home).
-The filter is great - I can stick my face in the exhaust and not feel as though I'm choking.
-It's lighter than my old upright.
-Small thing, but I *LOVE* the auto cord-winder feature. I HATE winding cords.
-The hose is flexible and doesn't crimp when you bend it.
-The wheels on the bottom are 360 wheels, so you can pull it in any direction no matter what position it's in.
-Gets up cat fur.
-It handles edges well.

I love this vac. I got tired of blowing $250-$400 every two-three years on another supposedly good vac.

I have 2 top of the line Kenmore progressive canisters - one is 10 years old, the other is 8. I love them. They have some features that I haven't found on more expensive canister. There are 2 lights - one on the power head and another on the end of the wand. So if you disconnect the power brush head and just use the long wand to vacuum behind furniture or along the toe kick in the kitchen you have an additional light. It also provides light if you're using one of the upholstery attachments. I also like the simple vacuum suction control located on the handle- one slight twist and it opens up and reduces the suction so that you don't overpower throw rugs.

I have mixed flooring- tile, wood, wall to wall and Persians. This works on all of them. And it's easy to maneuver. I did use my neighbor's Miele (I don't remember which model) and was surprised how difficult it was to maneuver the head- it actually made my wrist sore.

Vacuums are not inexpensive I suggest you try them out in the store before purchasing. And check the price and volume of the bags and HEPA filter if there is one.

I bought a Miele Callisto too, 2 weeks ago, for $799. Store threw in bags too. If you search on this site, you'll find lots of reviews of the different brands. I've had 2 top level Kenmores, and they were okay new, but I became very unhappy. The noise drove me nuts. Good luck!

About 13 years ago, I bought a Miele Platinum for just under $1000 and it still runs like new. It's quiet, lightweight, and really powerful. If it died tomorrow (and I don't see any signs of flagging) I'd buy another Miele without hesitation.

Cj

The march 2010 issue of Consumer Reports ranked 18 canisters: here are the top 10.

Kenmore Intuition 28014, 28015
Electrolux Oxygen EL6988
Kenmmore Progressive 27514,27515, 28614,29615
Hoover Windtunnel S3670
Electrolux Oxygen 3 EL7020, 7-24
Miele Callisto S5280 (disc.) -55281
SEBO Air Belt C3.1
Electrolux Ultra Silencer EL6986A
Miele Plus S251
Oreck Dutch Tech DTX1400

Obviously there are many more vacuums available that weren't included in the ratings and CR often has their own slant.

Miele.

I bought a Simplicity Jill for about $150 and have had it now for 2 months. We have all hardwood floors(3800 sq ft+ the basement). It is well made and does a great job and we have a couple of cats. It is assembled in the USA(in St. James,Missouri). Most all vacuums including Miele have some parts made in other countries. My sister has had other Riccaar /Simplicity products and loves them. Her husband is sensitive to noise. They have more expensive ones too but this one really seems to do the job. My sister was so impressed with it that she bought them for all her kids for Christmas. If you are intent on a German vaccumm, you might look at Sebo. I have had KIrby,Oreck,Dirt Devil, Eureka uprights and have a Royal commercial upright now.
I have had Sears,shark,electrolux, old hoover compact (great) and new Hoover commercial compact(doesn't suck-terrible) and a dirt devil cannisters.

Not exactly lightweight, but okay for stairs, and better than any standard vacuum, is Rainbow. The one with the water filter. It's expensive but oh, so worth it! (There are a couple other brands of water filter, but I think they're more expensive yet--check out the bag or bagless thread, near the bottom--plus its a good thread just for vacs.)

I seem to have purchased several vacs in the last 10-15 years. None seem to last very long no matter how much I spend. That said, I agree wholeheartedly with plllog, you cannot beat a Rainbow. I "inherited" my mom's 30 year old model. It still runs great (she definitely got her money's worth and then some) plus my dust allergy is much improved since using it.