The John Deerse site has a product selection tool. If you don't want a Deere, buy a tractor that is comparable to the recommended Deere.

Product Selection Tool

-Deerslayer

You found it here. Tell us all the specifics and you will get a list of ~3-4 tractors to consider. As far as Deere goes, you are looking at something in the X300 family unless you plan on tilling the garden, then you are looking at the X500 family. Do you have many obstacles to mow around? What is your price range?

You don't want to deal with break downs, do you? Size is less important than quality. The boxstores sell great big Craftsman
Deere, Cub Cadet and now Toro lawn tractors for very little money. Big motors, big mowing decks and little price tags. You
get what you pay for.

At a Deere, toro, simplicity or cub cadet dealer you will find tractors with smaller engines, smaller decks and big price tags. They are big enough to do the job, plus they have the quality to keep doing the job for 15 or more years.

If you can afford quality, it will save you money in the long run. What size? My 14hp Kawasaki powered Deere has a 38
inch deck. It has mowed 1 acre for the past 17 years.

The type and brand of your tractor will depend on how much acreage, whether it's flat or hilly, how many obstacles to mow around.

What are you going to haul and how far?

How long will your driveway be? Is it gravel or asphalt? Is it flat or on a hill or slope?

This is all specific information needed for some sort of evaluation. Websites, like John Deere's, ask you to be very specific.

You have requested general so here is my recommendation.
Three brands:
John Deere
Simplicity
Kubota.

All three companies can meet almost any need, have an excellent reputation and are exceptionally reliable.

Stay away from the box stores. Work with a dealer. Test drive the equipment before you decide.

Search past posts for Slammer's Rules. They are excellent guidelines.

I own a Simplicity Conquest and I am extremely happy with its performance and reliability.

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in western CT

I second eal51's opinion for whatever that's worth. Slammers old rules where right on.

repost:
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Here they are once again folks...Slammer's three point checklist for mower buying success...

1. Carefully evaluate the size mower you need and buy at least one size larger.

2. NEVER buy a mower from ANY PLACE that will not let you test drive it or at least a similar model. Ergonomics are just as important as performance and capability.(Vitally important!)

3. DO NOT base your purchase on price or brand name alone! Do proper research and find all of the available models that fit your criteria and haggle, save, or trade to get the right equipment for the job. Do not compromise!

If you follow these three tips you will end up a happy camper with just the right unit for the job. If you disregard this advice you're gonna end up with one or the other of the following problems:

A. Buyers remorse. Stuck with a piece of junk or simply a unit inadequate for the task at hand.

Or..

B. A teed off spouse when you start shopping for another tractor just 3 - 6 months down the road because you didn't buy the right unit in the first place.

Now go forth and shop and try and have fun!

Louisiana State University has lots of good background on tractors.

See http://www.lsuagcenter.com or the more specific link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: LSU Ag Center Home Gardening Equipment

There ain't no such thing as the proper size. Machine choice depends on the job asked and money you have to spend. My home sits on 10 acres and I started mowing with a push mower some years ago... 20inch Craftsman. I really would not recommend anything that small but it was better then nothing.

Whatever you get I recommend old and used. Ride it around for a year or two wishing it could do this or that. Then when you really go tractor shopping you will have firm ideas about what you want from your tractor.

These days I mow with one of John Deere's "heavy duty" garden tractors with a 62" deck. Still a bit on the small side but wacks a couple acres of lawn in about an hour. Now that I gots the tractor I'm collecting attachments like a back blade, cultivator, trencher, with post hole digger and tiller still on the wish list. Mow around christmas trees so I had to keep my old regular garden tractor because the 54" deck fits between the tree rows better.

Advice from my first Deere salesman that was words of wisdom "find the size you want and then get one step bigger". If I had the money that would be excellent advice.

Other thing is where you going to keep it. My gal left for Wisconsin some years ago and ain't been back. Tractor fits real nice in her spot in the garage. Not that I recommend divorce to make room for a tractor... maybe your wife will park along side the road?