Oh Boy!! You're gonna get a bunch of opinions on every color under the sun. I have a Poulan 6 1/2HP, 2 stage 24" I bought about a yr ago and it has performed well. It is all metal including the chute and seems well built.
Mike

It matters if you are more interested in sweeping off a sidewalk, as opposed to clearing heavy snow accumulation from a driveway. The smaller machines, with rubber blades, do a good job on light snow over concrete. They can get rid of 99% of the snow. Two stage blowers, that might have a gas engine, 6 to 10 hp, are best for heavy accumulation. But these machines leave a thin layer of snow, around 1/4 inch, so you still have to sweep the surface if you want to get it really clean. If you don't own a pick-up truck, it might be best to buy from someone who can deliver.

How much snow a 2 stage leaves behind depends on how the shoes are set in relation to the cutting edge.
Mike

Define your use? Sidewalk, Driveway, concrete or gravel, how long, any hills, want to mount it on a tractor you have?

Ev

I bought an MTD 24 inch 8 Hp almost 30 yrs ago and now use it at my cottage. It is long (distance from auger to tires) and is much better than my new poulan which has a shorter wheelbase. The older (MTD) has a tighter auger to chute clearance and this results in better snow throwing.
My advice is to look for an old machine in good shape. The other option is to buy a high end new machine.
We have lots of snow here.