You will get a variety of viewpoints on this and no particular one is right. It depends on how much room you and and what you like.

First, distinguish between a range top and a cooktop. They are not the same thing. There are various posts here about the differences and the pros/cons of each. Briefly, a range top is a basically a range with no oven underneath. Controls are in front. You can't get an oven underneath, I believe. A cooktop has its controls on top, which reduce the area available for cooking, get hot and in the way, etc., but provides a very clean look. You can mount a wall oven underneath, but it can turn out to be lower than the oven in a range. A cooktop can be a problem if you have to switch it out because measurements among brands may vary.

Regarding the wall ovens, going with a double wall oven is a nice look and some people like to keep the ovens in a separate area, apart from where the main prepping and cooking activity is taking place. But people have also noted a number of downsides. First, a true double oven means that if one breaks, you have to deal with the whole thing, not just one oven. Some people think that the setup means that one oven is too high and the other is too low. Still others don't like the fact that you can't vent the oven like you can when you have a range. You also have to buy the extra cabinetry for the wall oven. There are probably other considerations--can't remember them all now.

Personally, I like the flexibility of a range with a separate electric oven. In my case, I did a 36" gas range (Blue Star) with a 24" Miele speed oven undercounter because my space is limited. I use the speed oven most of the time because it heats up so much faster than the 36" oven. When I am pan roasting meat, having a range means that finishing off a dish in the range is easier than if I had to transport the hot pan to a wall oven somewhere. Broiling is right underneath my hood, not somewhere far removed. So when there is smoke, it clears faster.

If you decide to go with the double oven concept, you can instead do a regular wall oven and either a convection microwave, a speed oven or a steam oven. That would alleviate the issue if one breaks down.

Hope this helps.

I am in a similar boat as you except i am not sure when our renovation is actually going to start. I too want a 36 inch AG range and a single electric wall oven. I am leaning heavily towards the Wolf range, but the wall oven has me thumping my head against the wall (no pun intended). I am considering the 24 inch Miele combi-steam since it can be used as 100% convection, 100% steam or combination of both and i believe it has a broiler too. It's rather pricey and i am not convinced i will use the steam enough to justify the expense. I am a pretty simple girl at heart and never use the convection on my toaster oven or learned all the functions on my microwave!! So my other consideration is the Electrolux Wave touch 27 inch oven. I actually would prefer not to have the blue interior, but from what i can see, that is the only thing i don't like about it. It has mostly positive reviews from what i have read. I looked at the Bosch and it just didn't do anything for me - but i know there are a lot of happy owners.
I looked at reliability scores on Consumer Reports and GE had the lowest score (least amount of repairs) and kitchaid/whirlpool had the worst scores. I swear i read that the thermador wall ovens were the worst, but when i looked at it just now, thermador isn't even listed.
Hope that helps a little bit! Good luck!

Nycbluedevil, that is a terrific summary, I wish I'd read it before making my choices. It should probably be a sticky.

I'll add that some wall ovens have a fan that runs for quite a long time after the oven is off, and the noise can be bothersome. Consider placement in your layout, and noise levels of different brands if you can.

thanks for all the great feedback. i would prefer to have both gas and electric ovens so we are going to go with an AG range and a separate single electric wall oven.

recommendations on electric wall ovens? appliance guy first tried telling me that wolf oven blue finishes were only blue because the CEO liked the color (ok....) and there were no performance issues. then he admitted there were performance issues but that wolf would replace the oven if there were chips/cracks.

Um right...I forgot who it was that is having a hard time getting Wolf to acknowledge responsibility for the chipping in the oven.

I love Miele ovens. I think people like the Elux Icon ones too.

yes nycbluedevil, that's what i told him based on what i read here;) and who wants to monitor an item they've spent thousands of dollars on as to whether chipping is occurring so that you can put the call in for replacement before the warranty dies?

will check out the miele. any idea on the cost (roughly)? it's not noted online.

ajmadison.com has prices listed on website for miele

thanks- i'm holding with them right now:)

I have the Wolf DF range that is shot at less than 5 years old. They did replace a set of double ovens for a guy for $500 that were the same age as my range previously but they want me to pay an open ended amount for repairs with only a one year guarantee of the part. (That is real confidence in their product!). People have had ongoing issues with the blue. If I had a range top and oven separate I would not be out as much. I also have a blue Electrolux oven that had blue chipping and the liner was replaced under the extended warranty. The bill for that was a fixed amount $500. Wolf would be part plus labor starts at $800 or more "depending on what they find". I guess if there would be additional manufacturer's defects they would add that to the bill. We decided to cut our losses and probable further $$$ repair and move on. Right now I am using the oven for storage.

wekick, that is awful. why did you have to pay $500 to replace the electrolux under extended warranty? did your extended warranty not cover it?

That was what the repair company charged-paid by the warranty company which is actually the dealer who self insures.