I thought this came up a while ago, but I couldn't find it with the search function.
So to make a long story short, we need a new vacuum, this will be the 3rd in 6 years.
I'm tired of replacing these things so I want to get a good one. Dyson intrigues me, but they never seem to get top ratings in reviews, anyone with experience with Dyson or some recommendations for good models would be appreciated.

I've always been interested in Dyson, too, but I hate the cheap plastic look. Not that there's a ton of choice in the world of vacuums.

We have a Dyson DC14. It does the job pretty darn well. The plastic does look cheap, which is a turn off, and the design sometimes leaves a bit to be desired, but all the necessary functions are there. My wife says that it was clearly designed by a man.

We used to go through vacs quite often too. The wife finally bought an Oreck XL some years ago and it has served us well so far. In the package we bought there was also the hand held unit that is great for furniture and such.

We have the yellow Dyson (I think it's the DC14). After 2 1/2 years of almost daily use, and abuse, it still looks and works like new. The plastic may look cheap, but it is actually quite a rugged machine.

We have a Dyson 14 also. I mostly really like it and think that the design is almost perfect, with some minor caveats like the power on/off is so big and placed in such an easy to hit spot, that sometimes when converting to wand use, I turn it off and on.

Seriously, I think that's my only complaint. Note that my house is all hardwood floors with a few carpet runners, and this Dyson was always rated better on hardwood floors than carpeting.

Not sure if I'd buy another, though. Consumer Reports lists that model 19th with many cheaper models as better rated.

Top rated are the Hoover WindTunnel Anniversary Edition U6485-900 ($230) and then the Kenmore Progressive 35922 ($350).

Miele is highly regarded. When i was looking recently this suggestion came up quite often. They are not cheap though but do come with a 7 year warranty on the motor.

I have a consumers report from March 08 and these were the higher rated

1) Kenmore Progressive with Direct Drive 35922 $300 75
2) Kenmore Progressive with Direct Drive 36932 $350 69
3 Riccar SupraLite RSL3 $330 68
4) Electrolux Oxygen EL5035A $400 68
5) Kirby Sentria $1,350 66
6) Hoover Tempo Widepath U5140-900 $60 66
7) Dyson Absolute Animal DC17 $550 65
8) Riccar Brilliance Premium $750 65

Thanks everyone for the suggestions,
I was about to pull the trigger on a Dyson until I saw that Sears has the Kenmore Progressive with Direct Drive 35922 on sale for $100.00 off this weekend. We ended up going with the Kenmore, I'll let everyone know if this one seems like a keeper.

Yeah, let me know. I'm overdue for a new vacuum.

I'm late to the party, but I feel compeleed to say that Riccar has my loyalty now. After going through a string of cheapo vacs, I was steered by a gentleman who runs an actual Vacuum-only store towards Riccar, and based on what I needed he steered me towards the cheapest model he carried. That was about a decade ago, and it's still doing its job just fine.

I can't say one thing or another about Dyson other than the whole campaign for it has something of a Bose-stink about it that makes me cringe.

How convenient, a vacuum thread. My housecleaner told me I need to buy a new vacuum…… right before she quit last week. I was looking at one of those Dyson’s and couldn’t believe how expensive they were. $500 for a stinking vacuum??? No friggin way am I paying $500 for damn vacuum. So how’s that Sears dirt sucker working out Michael??

When I built the house, I installed all the pipe for a home vacuum system, but never did buy the vacuum. I got to thinking about it, and carrying 30’ of hose around just didn’t appeal to me. Plus, I’d have to figure out where to keep the thing. I suppose I should re-consider that.

Mike I'm still waiting for UPS to bring the new vacuum.

It's funny what you said about your house cleaner, ours asked me if I was going to buy a new vacuum, or should she start hauling her own up. I guess that was the hint I finally needed.

The Dyson is totally worth it.

We had a $700 Miele previously, and the Dyson kicks its ass. My wife said so. Who you gonna believe?

My experience with Dyson is not so favorable. My wife and I only used it for about 10 months or so. I used it mostly for vacuuming laminate flooring but it did not do the job sufficiently. It did work better on carpet, but I only have 1 room that is carpeted. My Eureka for less than $200 works much better.

We were given a $300 Hoover as a wedding present. 20 years later it still sucks like a pro. I wish I had bought extra brushes as a backup for the ones I have lost or that have worn out.

My wife swears by the old fashioned Electrolux that you haul around you like a stubborn puppy. I hate it. It has certainly proved reliable but it's 'suckage' is easily beaten by less expensive models. I think it is just a matter that her Mom was brainwashed by a salesman a while back and the precedent was set in her head from day 1.

My in-laws have a whole-house vacuum system. They hate it. It barely has any suction, and toting around the 30' of hose is a PITA. So says my mother-in-law. They've had repairmen out to look at it and were basically told that it was working normally. They don't even use it any more and just use a normal vac.

My mother is a die-hard Electrolux fan as well. Up until about a year ago, she was still using the same Electrolux vacuum that she'd been using since I was a kid. So it was at least 20 years old. She loved that thing. Maybe it was the same salesman, Murph. Its motor finally died and the repair cost was a bit much, so she bought a $500 Dyson. She liked it at first, but after about 8 months it started to really lose suction. She followed all of the cleaning directions to no avail.

Last weekend I took the whole thing apart in a last-ditch effort to fix it. The little tornado tubes & part of the filter housing was plugged up with dirt and carpet fuzz. So much for an un-clogable vacuum. It's back to normal suckage after I cleaned it out, but it's sort of ridiculous if this thing is going to need a complete overhaul every 6 months.

I use a plain-jane $100 bagless Dirt Devil that we bought at WalMart about 8 years ago. Quite literally a freshly-married, first-place-of-our-own, we-need-a-cheap-vacuum, vacuum. The brushes are pretty worn down and I need to change the brush belt, but it still sucks as well as the day I bought it.

~15 years ago, as a teenager I worked at a video store where we had to vacuum the floor every night. The store had an Oreck. Not that a teenager could actually be impressed by a vacuum cleaner, but I do remember thinking that it seemed to be a pretty good vacuum. It lasted through several years of constant (daily) abuse. It did a good job at keeping heavily trafficked carpets clean, even when being run by teenagers.

The Oreck is a very good vac and not to awful expensive.

We've had the Kenmore for a couple weeks now and I'm pretty impressed, lots of suction, super long cord and good attachments. Now the test of time will see if getting a higher priced vacuum was worth it. If it still performs well in a couple years I'll be very happy.

Sorry to hear it SUCKS! ;):)