We have two Kuhn Rikon pressure cookers and love them. They are extremely well-made, like good cookware. We have the large Dutch oven type and the 5 quart "braiser" style.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kuhn Rikon

Thank You suzyq3 for your "input"....razenette

I wound up purchasing the "Fagor" ON SALE from HSN today.I got the 6qt.one you just put on the stove. No fancy things. Years ago I used this type & never had a problem.
I'm excited to recieve it & try out. I think it comes w/Recipes too. It did have a 5-STAR rating. razenette

I have a Kuhn Rikon 6 qt stockpot-style PC, and also a Fagor Multi set which consists of an 8 qt stockpot and a 4 qt saute-pan shaped fry pan with a pressure lid that fits both the stockpot and the fry pan.

Both perform very well. The KR is a little slicker on 'fit & finish', but I can't tell much difference in the performance between the KR and the Fagor units. I am surprised as to how much I have used the fry pan, though. I often take some cheap cuts of beef, brown them, add a little liquid and pressure cook the heck out of them and I get fork-tender flavorful meat from a cheap cut.

While the Kuhn Rikon is absolutely top-of-the-line, the Fagor certainly seems to be the best value for the dollar. The link is to that multi set I described; I got it at a local department store for around $100. The KR is more expensive.

Two more observations: some PC's tout having a low pressure and a high pressure level. I've never used a low pressure setting and don't see much use for one; IMHO I don't see much point in it. Don't necessarily avoid one with two settings (the KR has two settings) but I wouldn't put too much stock in that as a selling point. The Fagor Multi has just one (high) setting and it works just fine.

Finally, whichever one you get, you might want to get a copy of a Lorna Sass cookbook or two. She is the head honcho (honchess? Honcha?) of PC cooking. Her latest book, Pressure Perfect, is very complete. I have it, along with The Pressured Cook and Cooking Under Pressure and her Vegetarian PC book. All are excellent.

Another good resource is missvickie.com.

I didn't get my first PC until I was in my fifties; wish I had gotten one a lot sooner. I couldn't see having a kitchen without one.

Finally, FWIW: on one of those Iron Chef shows I saw Mario Batalli use a Kuhn Rikon cooker. On an episode of Good Eats I saw Alton Brown use what looked like a Fagor cooker.

Here is a link that might be useful: fagor multi set