May not be a topic you get much input on. However, I share your described experience. We purchased a nice (and pricey) Krups when we were married back in '93, coinciding w/ the nice looking Krups coffee maker given as a wedding present (the brand selection was coincidental). The coffee maker quit working after a couple of months, the toaster lasted a little over a year - and I was given to calling Krups by a different name, using the vowel "a" instead of "u".

Since that time, we only buy cheap toasters - I recommend buying them from the grocery or drug store at no more than $25. We've only bought 2 since that time & this last one is stubborn from almost daily use, lasting 10 years now. I believe it's a Proctor Silex, but no matter, don't spend big bucks on it. We hide our's away on a tray in a cabinet after it cools off so it's no conversation piece.

Kitchenaid KMTT400SS - works like a champ - about $100 at Amazon. Check the reviews out while your there. If you're rarely going to use the toaster and hide it in a cabinet when not using it, then I agree with pugger.

If you're looking for something that will double as a door-stop, I can recommend the four-slice Krups pop-up toadster we purchased in haste. I look forward to saying farewell with it when we move.

Specific beefs:
 Toasts slowly and unevenly
 One pair of slots is half dead
 Hangs onto crumbs like a champ
 Often seems to ignore chosen darkness settings
 Lift insufficient to make removing toast easier
 Difficult to grip to throw

Thanks for the replies - I know it's not the most exciting topic.

My parents have the chrome toaster they got as a wedding gift in 1953. It was very "space age" then because the bread went down automatically. It still works, and style-wise has cycled back into vogue. Wish they still made them that way!

And, yes, I've purchased that same brand in years past, but they were new & improved (also plastic & flimsy) and didn't last long.

I'm not an ecology fanatic, but it bothers me to buy an appliance with thoughts that it will be disposable. However, my last one was near $100 and the bread would either never go down, or burned before it came up.

It's relatively so little what we expect of a toaster - with all the other bells & whistles gadgets out there, you'd think toasters would have been perfected by now.

Oh, those '50's toasters were so good!!!

My father has been collecting toasters since he could no longer fix his.

Experience: Dualit is very expensive. It toasts very evenly, and in the English manner which is hard to explain--more surface, less all the way through, I guess. I like it. My father thinks it makes cold hard toast in the English manner. I took it home with me recently. This model doesn't do hand sliced or bagels though I'm sure some do. You can set it for 1 or two slices. It's indestructible. It's very expensive.

The Proctor Silex and similar cheapie little ones make okay toast from store sliced bread. I don't like the way the ones with the wider slots work on thinner breads, but they're okay on bagels.

My father's favorite is Emerson, which is also English, and hard to find. It makes great toast has a lifter, has a flip up warming rack, and makes great toast.

Also, check out Hug The Cook for their toaster tests.

Amck - you didn't mention your budget or whether you are looking for a 2-slice or 4-slice toaster. I remember a thread on toasters a while back, where people were raving about their Dualit's from William-Sonoma, which are $300+. I would like to recommend a toaster that I bought for my senior citizen Mom. Her requirements were: no bells-and-whistles, nothing digital, easy dials (her dexterity isn't very good now), a crumb tray that pulls out (she does not have the strength to carry the entire toaster to the sink to shake out crumbs), 2-slice size, sides would not get hot (some toasters can get dangerously hot sides) and can toast bagels as well as bread. Her previous cheap toaster was a T-fal - that thing used to launch the toast airborne, where it would invariably land in the sink. The toaster that fit that checklist was the Kitchenaid KTT340. She chose black, as she felt the white and red looked a little plastic-y, but the black is sharp. I do not know how this Kitchenaid KTT340 compares to the Kitchenaid that Stubaby recommends above, except that the one I am recommending is only about $50.

My Mom likes the "soft rise" and "easy lift" features the best - the toast just gently rises up when it's done - no more flying toast across the room!

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchenaid KTT340 Toaster in Black

Ah yes, KitchenAid. One of many poor toasters I spent too much for in desperation and haste. I wouldn't be surprised if in ten years it is another of those "Zombie" brands working out of one office somewhere renting its logo to anyone for anything.

Anyone remember the B&D "Arize"? That was something!

Some years ago Consumers Reports gave top marks to toasters made for Wal-Mart in Mexico and sold under the GE logo. I had one and it was very good provided you made two slices of toast every time. Don't know if the present unit is good too. Probably not, but worth a try.

We bought a 2-slice Braun toaster about a year ago & would buy it again. It is very long & narrow, suitable for 2 slices of regular slices or an extra large slice of bread. We routinely toast English muffins & bagels in it. It comes with a dinner roll warmer attachment that we've used occasionally.

Here is a link that might be useful: Braun toaster from amazon.com

I don't know if you'd consider a toaster oven, but I highly recommend them. They toast pretty evenly, fit different sized breads (texas toast, eng muffins, bagels...) and are great for reheating a single slice of pizza, making a 1-2 quesadillas or lots of other small items.
I've had 2 Black and Decker toaster ovens over the last 25 years. When the old one died about 6 years ago, I tried a lot of different brands (Proctor Silex, Delongi...) and finally went back and basically bought the same old Black and Decker which I still have and love. Mine is 15Wx7.5Hx9D so it does take up a little more space than a regular toaster, but not that much more. They only cost $40-$50 (I just checked the price on line.) Best of luck!

Count me among the toaster oven fans. They can do things pop-up toasters can't, and somehow I manage to be less likely to burn myself on one of them when retrieving warm, newly-darkened, and crip piece of bread, English muffins, and bagels.

I bought a great toaster from the antique mall-the sunbeam toaster that the bread lowers and comes up when it is done. I read , I think on gardenweb that the new toasters run cooler so it takes longer to toast the bread and it dries out more. All I know is it makes great toast and quickly. It also toasts very evenly. They let me test it before I bought it. I went next door and bought a loaf of bread and made toast. I have seen them on ebay too.

We bought our 4 slice Dualit from the Williams Sonoma outlet store for under $100. They almost always have some in stock but you have to go there or call them, cannot order online. But they will take a phone order and ship.

Had it for 3 years now and it works great, looks great...and was pretty reasonable price.

We just got a new toaster from the JC Penney Cooks mail-order catalog. The model number is MF780-4312B for the four slice toaster, and there's also a 2-slice version. We got because of the copper finish (I think it comes in other finishes), but it turns out to be a very good toaster, especially for bagels - my favorite. It has a selector for 2 or 4-slice, so you don't run the extra sides if you don't need them.

My biggest criticisms are: 1) the darkness setting is digital, so you might find that one level is too dark, and one less is too light. Level 4 works best for bagels (w/out the bagel settting). 2) the lever to raise the bread up after toasting doesn't raise smaller things like english muffins quite high enough. 3) This is part of a whole line of copper appliances/accessories. The copper on the toaster doesn't really match the others. It's okay, though.

We got this along with the copper coffee maker. DO NOT get the coffee maker. What a piece of junk! It looked great, but we ended up returning that.

I love our toaster oven. It's a Black and Decker Infrawave and it toasts with light. It is SO cool to watch the toast brown perfectly evenly in about a minute. It goes from bread to toast in such a magical way it's mesmerizing...especially pre-coffee in the early morning. It is great for bagels, English muffins and toaster waffles too. I love love love it.

evaperconti - Your toaster over sounds intriguing. Can you tell me how large a footprint it has? Does the outside of it get/stay hot?

I am planning to store the toaster in the pantry when not in use. We had a toaster oven years ago and I remember it stayed very hot - too hot to pick up and move - for quite a long time after we'd used it.

Thanks!

We got a 4 slice Dualit from WS (red and chrome) back in 1998... still using it. Toasts evenly, looks great, easy to clean. It was expensive, but ours was on closeout (I think the Red was a seasonal color)... somewhere around $175 if I remember correctly.

I have a proctor silex (under 25) for over 20 years now. I'm just about to trade up to another cheap under 25 toaster so I can get it in stainless. It toasts great and evenly and if it breaks in 2 years I don't feel sad.

The thing we'll be using it for most is English muffins for Eggs Benedict. We're the place for Saturday breakfast and Sunday morning brunch, so we'd like to toast at least 4 halves at a time. It's been so long since I've had one..can anyone tell me how many fit in a typical toaster oven? I'm starting to think I may go that route if it can be easily stowed away during the week.

I used to toast 6 English muffin halves at a time in our DeLonghi toaster oven.

The InfraWave Speed Toaster looks interesting. No 4-slot model?

Here is a link that might be useful: Black & Decker InfraWave Speed Toaster

It's not cheap, but it toasts perfectly, and the convection feature works well too! I'm currently in my tiny kitchen (renovating new house; will move in amonoth or so) and it serves as my warming oven, convection for the kids' nuggets in a hurry, reheating pizza, melting cheese for a tuna melt, broiling a single person's meal - I couldn't live without it on holidays. It even nicely finishes up the browning of an apple pie when you need the large oven for something else.

If you buy from Chefs Catalog, they guarantee everything, no questions asked (keep your receipt!). My first one, somehow the handle on the glass door unglued itself and they sent a replacement and a return label for the "damaged" toaster to be sent back in. Well worth the price, imo. I had a garage made just for housing this toaster in my new kitchen!

Here is a link that might be useful: Cuisinart Toaster/Convection Oven

Just today I saw this in the Chef's Catalog. It's supposed to do 12 slices at once. Might be right handy for all those muffins :)

I highly recommend plllog's suggestion of checking out the Hug the Cook's toaster review. I believe they rate toasters in every price range on multiple features. Based partially on what I learned there, I purchased a 4 slice Viking and could not be happier with my choice. No bells and whistles, just does what it's supposed to do, and is the sturdiest toaster on the market IMO. I highly doubt I will ever need to purchase another. At the time, I think I found the best internet price at Pantry Pride.

I see someone else linked to an Infrawave toaster, but that's not the one I have. The one I have is the toaster oven,linked below. We bought it not only for toast...although it makes excellent toast...we wanted something to reheat and crisp leftovers, pizza, appetizers etc.

It does get hot and stays hot for a bit. I don't know that I'd want to pick it up and move it around all the time, though. It's definitely a countertop appliance.

Here is a link that might be useful: Infrawave Speed Oven

Thank you for all the responses!

Three of the recommendations are in the running. I will have DH look them over this weekend and cast his vote.

When we renovated our kitchen we no longer had room for a toaster oven. Too bad, because I do second the recommendation for a toaster oven unless you really only want a toaster.

That said, I didn't want to spend a huge amount on a toaster, wanted something attractive enough for our new black and white kitchen, but needed something that could do 4-slices and bagels. We ended up with a Kenmore, which has been fine so far. (It comes in, I think, three different color combos too.) We're not one of these people who's super-picky about how the toast turns out, so you'll have to take that into consideration! ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Kenmore Toaster

DUALIT! We have had a 4 slice Dualit for years, with no trouble.

PennyLaney

Well, RATS! I was certain my father's favorite was the Emerson, but it's actually the Kenwood. I just looked at it for myself. Google has a lot of entries for "DeLonghi Kenwood" so I'm guessing they've consolidated :)

I have a 40+ year old Sunbeam that is the BEST toaster ever--and I've had tons, cheap to expensive.

This is the exact model sitting on the counter in my kitchen. Had it for years. It rocks. Has a slight Art Deco design. It's a great performing toaster. I wouldn't give 2 cents for any modern toaster--with the possible exception of a Dualit. But I can buy 16 old Sunbeams for the price of one Dualit.

I have a toaster oven as well, but I don't really use it to make toast. It does other jobs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunbeam on eBay

Stop!! I have had toasters and toaster ovens. I cook alot and have a dacor double convection/conventional oven. I love my Cuisanart toaster oven so much that I bought another one for my son. It toasts well and is also a convection oven which works great. I toast with it and also cook in it. Would reccomend highly. It is around 100.00 but well worth it. Do not go with B and D or the other cheaper toaster ovens.

Just a bit of nostalgia here. I bought a GE (BEFORE it was B&D) 4 slice toaster oven in 1969. It was fabulous. You could see the toast & stop it if it was getting too brown. It was chrome. I could make it gorgous & shiny new looking with almost any cleanser. When you opened the door it pulled the tray out a little so you didn't have to stick your hand in to get your toast. It was perfect. It was great for about 30 years, and then after much faithful service the heating element died.

Since then I have bought about 7 or 8 toaster ovens for my kids' apartments, to replace mine (and theirs!) etc. They're all just awful. I've bought expensive ones & cheap ones. They take forever to do the job, or they're too fast & burn. Almost none slide out the tray for you. It shouldn't be that hard to find one that just works right. I think, though, I'll try the Cuisinart some people have recommended.

This cuisinart toaster has been great. It's been used about a year now, alomost daily. My son eats Eggos on a daily basis. :0

Here is a link that might be useful: Cusinart Toaster

You know, it's funny how cyclical these things are. When I was looking for a toaster, the Dualit was resoundly panned by unhappy owners.

I've had the toaster that Shannon linked to, for about a year and have been very pleased with it. I have the 4-slice option. Does a nice job. The kids like the "frozen" option for toaster their waffles.

I had a Krups before that and returned it. Piece of junk!

I love my Panasonic halogen toaster. We changed to stainless appliances and I went to order a new one in stainless. It has been discontinued. Best toaster oven I have ever seen. Oh well....