ThomasH

I'd say Miele and Sebo are great choices as well. They are European manufacturers though, and they have to abide by new and strict regulations on power consumption on the European markets. Yes, you heard me right, power consumption from a vacuum of all things. I mean, vacuums aren't usually utilized for more than 10-20 minutes a day, but European officials have to make themselves useful somehow. As a result of that regulation, we might experience weaker vacuums here in the US as well, since they will probably standardize their production lines to meet global regulations and keep the cost down. Unless you're searching for an industrial standard vacuum, you will have a hard time avoiding some amount of plastic. Miele Complete C3 series would in general be a great choice, and they come in a variety of makes and models with different range of attachments included. Currently the Marin PowerLine SGJE0 is one of the highest ranking models.

I've been using the Dyson V8 Absolute for almost a year now in a 1,000 sqft. appartment. It works great! For larger homes it works great as a grab-and-go vacuum for smaller areas, and for smaller homes it can easily replace a canister/upright vacuum. It goes around corners easily, and the wall mount makes it even easier to simply grab it and start vacuuming. It makes the charging easier as well, and you don't have to plug it in manually. On MAX setting the battery drains in 6-7 minutes, but it performs really well on the ECO setting while vacuuming hard floors. I couldn't be happier with my V8, and I would never switch back to my old, bulky canister vacuum ever again.