killingsnakes posted a great looking laminate floor and provided details. See link. Maybe she'll see this and chime in again with an update.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wood look laminate

At least five years ago, I put a very cheap wood looking laminate down in my rear entryway, hall, and guest bedroom. I can't recall the brand, but it was $1 sq/ft from Costco.

It held up well to everything except liquids. I spilled a bottle of cleaning product on it and even though I cleaned it immediately, the floor bubbled. The same happened when my dog had a accident on it. But as far as scratching, ect it's still in great shape.

I just put Home Depot peel and stick allure tile in my front entryway, and so far, so good. However, it has only been a few months.

There are so many laminates out there. My sister bought a house with laminate in some of the rooms and she just had the rest of the house done in similar laminate. I feel it does not look like wood and there are some rooms that sound like you are tap dancing. However, my daughter had a rental apartment and the living room had laminate and it looked good and did not have that hollow sound. My sister still talks highly of hers and keeps reminding me that it doesn't scratch! I love my oak floors and if they get a scratch or two, so what?
I am hoping you will get good references from those who are happy and who have laminate that looks like wood.

Consumer Reports just rated different floors including laminates in their current issue, the July one.

I took up the carpet and with the help of my brother, put in Swiftlock laminate. I did the bedroom first and liked it so much I did the living/dining room. I'm really happy with it so far. We did the cutting out on the porch and when I was cleaning up out there this spring I found some scrap pieces that didn't look too bad considering they had to have been damp sometime. I'd use Swiftlock again. I chose Fireside Oak, here is a pic mid-install:

I have had a Mannington laminate in my kitchen/hall/half bathroom for approx. 10 years. The color I have is a medium oak color. If you have dogs, it will show paw prints, but it cleans up easily. Dogs will slip and slide on it so that is a concern we had with our Golden Retrievers. The icemaker on my refrigerator was leaking beneath our flooring. By the time we discovered it, the floor had warped slightly so that is another consideration. I think the look is a nice alternative to wood and it still looks very good. Just a few pros and cons based on my expereience.

I have had Wilsonart Laminate for over 5 years in the kitchen and laundry room. Would do it again. The only thing that bothers it is standing water but if you catch the leak and wipe it up, you will have no problem.

Thanks for your input everyone - very helpful!

Deanna

I recently put laminate flooring in my dining room and I love it. I would suggest buying the best laminate if you can. I got mine from Lumber Liquidators and only looked at the 12mm laminates. Mine is the Ispiri Dream Home African Thuya Burlwood and if I had any idea how to post a picture of it, I would. It was $2.89 a square foot but it had a more solid feel to it. I'm happy with the new floor.

killingsnakes floor is Mannington sheet vinyl.