They are all about the same price............I'd love to hear from someone else, just in case they have an answer that I am unaware of..........

Lowes has a product called LG Hi-Macs. We love it! You can't set hot pans on it like you could on quartz, but who does that anyways? Our kitchen was $1600

Is the LG Hi Macs a solid surface, like Corion? A plastic?

I called Home Depot today and their Corion is $45-75/sq foot. That's about what the granite is too.

What is your budget? The quote you received would be about average for most solid counters. There are some VERY nice laminates these days though if you haven't check them out. We used the Formica 180FX on our coffee bar.

Transitional Kitchen by Other Metro Kitchen & Bath Designers ProSource Memphis

Laminates have come a long way. The marble kaminate in the previous posting looks great.....

If you are going to go for a real stone countertop, I would find a stone yard in your area they may have large remnants. You would not believe how much money you can save by going with your local granite company.

@elw4797, its labeled as a "solid surface". Unsure exactly what it is, but I do know it feels very different than Corion, which I think has a very strange plasticy feel to it. The hi-macs has a cold crisp feeling, much like natural stone. Ours was $31 /ft. I would use it again. The other downside is that you can't cut on it, but this was not a factor for us.

You can always beef up your base, and pour concrete countertops. I plan on doing that, and imbedding some granite slabs (HD, 18x31") and some trivet hotpoints (tempered glass with metal edge) so I can set stuff onto the counters. I might even make it to a stone place at the time I'm getting ready and see what they have in scratchNdent and cutoffs and design around that. I have an aunt that has coral colored corian, it's beautiful; and I've met many a granite counter, but that is just out of my budget, hence I am going to pour.

Home Depot recently installed about 50 sq ft of Ubatuba granite for about $1,800 (10% off sale). Prices vary from region to region and this was the low end. Check out http://ext.homedepot.com/shopping-tools/countertops/web/wizard/measurements. It will explain how to measure and price out laminates, Hi-Macs, Corian, quartz and granite. The high def laminates are beautiful. At www.Formica.com you can order good sized samples free with no shipping charge. Do your homework on line. I even used Google Earth to look at the area mine came from in SE Brazil. And, of course, I looked at all the pictures on Houzz which used the granite I chose as well as all the images on Google. You wouldn't have to order from Home Depot, but their website would give you an idea of costs for the various types.

There are different levels of granite so you may have quoted an expensive color. The price usually goes from least to list expensive laminate, granite, soapstone, quartz, solid surface. You gave to also take into account the name brand of quartz and solid surface you pay for. Go to your local retail granite supplier and ask to see their level one slabs which are your most affordable.

I just put large format tiles in, so far love them. Stone peak.

Granite prices vary drastically throughout the country. Lowes and HomeDepot will almost always be on the high end.
The more important question is what kind of countertop do you actually need. There are many questions we ask our clients to determine the best surface. How many people use the kitchen? Is this just for looks or will it be a hard-working surface? What condition are the cabinets in? Do you plan to stay in the house for more than 5 years? Are you planning to replace the sink?
The answers to these questions will determine the correct answer.

If the cabinets are not in good shape, or the kitchen is for looks only - stick with laminate. The modern laminates look like natural stone at less than half the price.

If this is a hard-working, family oriented kitchen - then quartz would be the best solution and it would be worth the extra costs involved.

The solid surface materials (Corian, Hi-Macs, Swanstone, etc) fall somewhere in the middle. They are soft, so they scratch and burn easily but can be repaired.

There are many other surfaces, but availability depends on your geographic location.