The brands which have the best reputations are:

Carrier/Bryant
Trane/American Standard
Rheem/Rudd

These pairing are sister brands. Each brand has the same AC with a different label.

Be aware these brands have several models from high end down to the cheap builder's grade of equipment. Stay away from the low end and you will be fine. Even these brands have their share of problems just like Honda and Toyota.

thanks Mike

I had to make a similar decision and decided on a seer 14 Trane (rooftop gas/electric package). I saw both good and bad reviews about every single hvac on the market. Time will tell if I made the right choice but so far it's looking good.

This thing is so quiet I had to climb on the roof and get up close to tell if it was running. The people next door have a Goodman and it seems like it's always running (hate to see their electric bill) and although it's not extremely loud, you can't miss hearing it when you are outside. I just moved in last month so I don't know if they are having problems with it or what.

The Trane replaced a 27 year old Whirlpool. It still cooled fairly well but my first electric bill was through the roof. It also was rattling my light fixtures and vibrating the whole house. The home inspector told me about the vibration ahead of time and said that it was old and nearing the end of it's useful life.

You also have to decide on who is going to install your AC. I found out after the fact that our power company had a rebate program but only with certain contractors. Mine was not on the list but they made up for it in price, and they had mostly great reviews. Seems the ones on the list were in a sense pocketing your rebate ($650) by charging a higher price. There's always a catch.

Oh, and with regards to seer ratings, the higher seer numbers don't always justify the price difference. What matters are better features on the unit. Mine has a variable speed blower that everyone seems to agree is a very good thing. It will continue blowing air slowly after the compressor stops because the coils are still cold and makes for a more comfortable overall temperature. While the better features go hand in hand with higher seer numbers, don't count on the numbers themselves. There's some websites that show that the difference in the numbers amount to only a small annual savings. Will a couple hundred dollars a year savings justify paying $2000 more up front to go from a seer 14 to a 16? Yeah, maybe in 20 years, if it lasts that long (it probably won't). By the way, the minimum federally mandated seer is 13. Going to hurt when they raise it something like 16, and they will.

RE above: What I meant to say was you would be better off putting that $2000 into making your house better insulated; better windows, doors, attic insulation, etc.