I recently made a post in r/BuyItForLife that received a lot of responses about vacuum cleaner reviews.

My conclusion is that most review sites cannot review most products long-term and are optimized to generate affiliate revenue. Sharks seem to perform well out-of-the-box and sell well, so it makes sense why review sites recommend them.

But if there is one site that's most critical, honest, and trusted, it's Consumer Reports. CR is an 86-year-old non-profit dedicated to honesty and fairness to consumers. People consistently praise CR for their review quality. While sites like Wirecutter have gone downhill.

And still, CR recommends Shark, a brand not liked in this sub (also Dyson, which also is not popular here either).

So what gives?

Is CR missing something that r/VacuumCleaners gets? Does r/VacuumCleaners skew in a direction, and CR doesn't, and that's ok?

As a consumer, I think it's important to compare multiple sources. So I'd at least like to compare this sub with CR and maybe 2-3 other sources. I'm curious what folks here think.

So, I look at this sub on occasion, and I see the consistent hyping of Sabo and Miele. Cool. I am thinking of replacing my current upright canister vacuum, and I checked in with Consumer Reports rankings, their top 3 bagged uprights are all Kenmore (Elite Pet Friendly 31150, BU1018, and Intuition BU4050) rated 77, 75, 74. Followed by 3 Oreck models (Elevate Command, Elevate Conquerer, and Elevate Control), rated 61, 61, and 54.

For bag-less uprights, they have the Shark PowerDetect AZ4002 at 82, then the Shark Navigator Professional NV360 at 78, and the Shark Stratos AZ3002 at 77. The Sebo Felix Premium rates a 66. The Miele Upright U1 Cat and Dog comes in at a 76, the maverick at 72, and the Twist at 72.

So, my question is why nobody on here seems to like Shark or Kenmore, and why did Wirecutter rank the Sebo so much higher? Is it just a function of Consumer Reports factoring in price relative to performance and the Sebo does marginally better but costs $600-$700, and the Shark and Kenmore costs $300-$450? Is it brand reliability and durability?

What accounts for the difference, and is it really that much of a difference in performance relative to price?

Edit: Since the moderator asked, I don’t really have a budget, and just want a quality product without overpaying. My floor type is hardwood over 2 floors, with area rugs in the living room, bedrooms, and hallways. There are 2 cats. I have a stick vacuum for the stairs, and a Roomba to get the dust/cat bunnies on a more regular basis.. I use the upright for deeper cleaning of the area rugs. I occasionally have a cleaning crew come in every 4-5 weeks to give the whole place a once over.