check out the breville. I love mine. Williams sonoma sells it, but ABT and other places do too. It's a bit pricy, but worth it if you ask me!

Also a fan of the Breville. We have the two slice version from W-S. Hopefully, this is the last toaster I ever have to buy.

We got a Dualit for a wedding present 12 years ago.
It's made perfect toast daily since then and still looks great.

If it broke tomorrow I'd go buy another one.

I just bought the Breville 2 slice and really like it. I got it at Bed Bath and Beyond with a 20% off coupon.

We have a Breville, purchased unglamorously from WalMart. I don't know if it's the best, but we've been very pleased with it. My husband and I both got a kick out of the "bagels face inward" instruction pressed permanently into the metal on top, guessing they probably had a LOT of returns and indignent messages from people who don't/can't read instruction manuals.

DH eats toast on and off and I didn't want to spend a lot.
Cook's Illustrated and Consumer reports rated proctor silex as top 1 or 2 (tied)....it was $20 at the hardware store and makes amazingly perfect toast.

Avoid the Cuisinart, unless you prefer your toast with raw bread on one side and a quarter inch of black charcoal on the other.

Our toaster is a Proctor Silex one, and it won't quit so I can get a new one. The handle fell off about a year ago, but considering it was a wedding gift 19 years ago, it has lived a long useful life. I just keep it in a cupboard on a tray, so it doesn't matter that it isn't nice looking.

I have been eyeing those pretty cuisinart ones, so thanks for the heads-up on the poor performance you had, marcolo.

Interesting to see Marcolo's post about the Cuisinart since Consumer reports has the Cuisinart at the top of their list. We have had a toaster oven for years and have decided to go back to the good 'ol pop-up toaster after the renovation. I would like a stainless steel exterior and just want it to make toast that is even on both sides and only takes one cycle to get it right. Sounds like many like the Breville. I will keep watch on this thread to see what others have to say.

BTW could you each say which version of the Breville you own and like. I just went to look at the Breville and there are like 5 different versions. Some are quite big 4 slice and others are skinny two slice. Not sure that all perform equally as well.
Thanks! and thanks to the person who started this thread!

I am with Marcolo and thumbs down on the Cuisinart. We have the 4 slice, it is 3 years old. About 2 years ago one side stopped working so it became a 2 slice. The remaining 2 slots are fading fast.
Am I unreasonable that I think a $50 toaster should last longer than this?

I was surprised by Marcolo's experience with a cuisinart. I bought one about 8 months ago (model CPT 120) and have been perfectly happy with it. Toasts evenly and well. 'Course it's still young. And erratic quality from one toaster to another, is a good reason not to buy.

p.ball2, this is the one I have -- two long slots that will toast 4 standard slices or possibly only 2 artisan slices that you would have to cut in half with a conventional toaster. It does bagels with ease too. I replaced a white one that was yellowing for appearance's sake and went through several models before I found one I was happy with.

I checked in here because I'm looking to get a new toaster too. I'm ready to pitch mine to the curb. I've got a Cuisinart 4 slice. It's about 8 years old, could be less, I really can't remember. I don't think they have changed the basic design since I bought mine. When the two levers are pressed at the same time on the same setting, the left cycle is longer than the right, so the left side always produces darker toast. I end up keeping it set at the lowest level and just keep pressing until the desired level is achieved. When I toast frozen pastries for the kiddos, I actually have to stand by and listen for the sizzle sound. Now some of the burners, if that's the right word, are starting to fade, so I'm getting light spots. I don't want to have to monitor the toaster. Isn't the whole point is to set and walk away and come back when it pops up?

When I end up pressing down 2 or 3 times, I'm reminded of that scene from the movie Kate and Leopold where Hugh Jackman's character rants about how you have to press the button twice otherwise the toast is either too light or burned and why couldn't the General of Electric figure out how to make a toaster that makes great toast in our modern age. Amen, brother.

Has the basic design of toasters really changed that much in the last 50-70 years? The main difference I have noticed is that toasters now have special screws in them so that you cannot open them up unless you are an authorized repair shop.

My 4-slice white Cuisinart is about 6 years old now. We do use it a lot, so it was one of the only items to get to stay on the counters. It still works fine. Well, sometimes one side is darker than the other but that is because my daughter leaves the setting on 5.

I should point out that I returned my first Cuisinart due to its ebony and ivory toasting pattern, and the one I brought home instead does the exact same thing.

My parents' 1938 wedding present works great. You just have to watch it constantly. Hey, wait, how is that different from the Cuisinart?

We got the Bodum chrome toaster, so far it works great. I did a lot of research, and one article mentioned that price is not necessarily the best way to ensure good quality. Of course, this was the most expensive toaster I've ever had, but there were plenty of others that cost more and had terrible reviews.