Zodiaq coarse carrara quartz - love, love, love how smooth they are, so easy to maintain and love the undermounted sink.

I've had laminates (Formica, Wilson Art etc.) for many years and I never had a problem with them but they are not undermount sink friendly.

Ceasarstone Organic White. Love it - we actually decided on quartz counters before we decided on anything else.

Cambria Quartz. I've had it for 12 years and it has been bulletproof. I thought I would do quartz again, but then I saw soapstone..... and fell in love.

W have had Corian for the past 15? years. Loved it. It will be demo'd Monday along with the old cabinets, as our layout has changed. We are getting soapstone.

Swanstone (which no longer offers countertops). Extremely happy with it. I may or may not change our my cabs; if I do I'll opt for Cambria quartz.

Blue pearl granite on the perimeter and statuary marble on the isand/table. The blue pearl is bullet proof and requires no maintenance. The marble etches and scratches and is my most favorite thing in the house. If I had to do it again, is probably choose marble for the entire kitchen.

Giallo Napoli granite. Love it, still stand and admire the patterns and depth it has. No babying it which I also love. Would get it again in a heartbeat.

Soapstone, almost three years now, only wish I had known about it thirty plus years ago... It is fantastic!

I also have a section of Maple butcher block, 28 years old, which I could not imagine living without :)

Soapstone at our lakehouse for 8 years. First heard about it here. Love it! I can get two looks from it depending on my mood or the season. Can oil & get it nearly black or leave it natural and it goes to a matte more rustic-looking grey. I love it especially for kneading & rolling out dough & I put my hot baking pans on it right out of the oven. It suits the setting which is woodsy and surrounded by stone walls.

Got a light colored granite - New Golden Beach - for my home kitchen last year. I wanted a quiet light stone & this works nicely with my creamy cabinets. Keeping these neutral lets me play with seasonal color in my accessories and wall art.

Two totally different kitchens called for 2 totally different counter materials. But soapstone is my all-time favorite.

Super White. Fell in love with it here on GW and was thrilled we were able to include in our new build home. Have not experienced the etching and staining issues that keep many admirers away from this beautiful stone. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I don't plan on moving anytime soon!

Arabian Nights granite. Fell in love with it at the granite place . Happy with my choice, especially the fabrication and installation.

Black walnut....I adore it. I have had Silestone, which I loved, and Verdi butterfly granite, also loved it as a work surface. I have Alabama White marble on the dining room hutch coffee bar, and I would not change it. I must be easy to please, lol.

Piracema granite for 10 years. Love love LOVE it. It looks like the day it was installed, and believe me, I have not babied it. It's only been sealed once, when it was installed, and I haven't sealed it since. Whenever I hear people say they think that granite is high-maintenance, I am mystified. Mine sure isn't!

Verde Lavras granite. I wanted soapstone, couldn't get it, thought about slate, considered Corian, almost bought quartz, but really liked the soft grey-green of this granite and am happy with this choice. Very easy maintenance (as in, none).

Iceberg Quartzite. I love it and would choose it again. It's beautiful and durable and adds so much to my very simple kitchen design.

I just cooked in my almost finished kitchen for the 1st time tonight. My Taj Mahal quartzite made my heart sing - I love it.

I wanted marble but wouldn't work in my kitchen. The Taj Mahal give me the same happy feeling as marble. It is just a creamy tone rather than the gray marble tone. However, next to my stainless cooktop - the gray tones come out.

I tested samples before deciding on it and I couldn't hurt it.

While doing the search, I saw the Iceburg christina222_gw mentioned - I have to say, that stone is beautiful.

Fantasy Brown Quartzite. I wanted a light-colored counter. Ours is a light version of FBQ. Thought I'd pick a quartz again (had Cambria for the 12 years previous and LOVED it). But the quartzite we found was a better value and I thought, a lot prettier. Yes, I'd pick it again

Blue In The Night granite.

It requires no sealer and is almost bullet proof.

Would definitely do it again.

Cambria quartz. I am very satisfied with it. It is just what I hoped for in looks and durability, but if all things were equal (cost, skill of fabricators, and value for resale) I would have done soapstone.

Caesarstone Smoky Ash (discontinued, I believe). As a surface, it's been bulletproof. However, I've decided a dark counter hides too much and is sometimes difficult as a background. I like quartz, but next time would choose a light color. Or marble.

Fantasy Brown quartzite. Black walnut on the island. Kitchen is not yet complete, so I can't say that I've put it through its paces yet.

Mont Blanc quartzite (similar to Taj Mahal and Perla Venata). Love it. It's easy to care for, and I like the subtle, sweeping veins. It's a nice, warm, neutral color that works well with my white cabinets and stainless appliances, but would also go with dark, stained cabinets.

We have snowfall granite being installed in a few weeks. I'm just now learning about this soapstone stuff from GW, but I still would've went with the granite, personally. I love the 3 dimensional appearance of the stone we chose. We currently have corian and I cannot wait to be rid of them (probably due to the color more than other things- brown- but it scratches easily and the integrated sink is, well.. bleh). Quartz was too uniform for me. The fun of granite is that it's unique.

Caesarstone Pebble in the honed finish. It's fantastic! It's a beautiful light grey, soft and silky to the touch, and it's easy to care for. I'm so glad I went with the honed finish despite all the horror stories I'd read about quartz honed finishes.

Love my calm Dakota Mahogany granite in the kitchen -- speckled black, light gray and copper. It is a complementary companion for the star, an iridescent copper glass backsplash. Corian in Ecru is the counter on the coffee bar and bookshelf / desk area in the adjoining family room. It's the perfect answer for the elegant look in those areas but love most the natural beauty of the granite.

Laminate now, will have Corian in the new kitchen. Loved the laminate, bulletproof for my needs for the last 35 years. Going with Corian because I want a change and it should serve as well as laminate.

We just installed soapstone counters and I love them. Can't help just running my hands over them... so smooth and velvety.

For our raised bar I was planning to do wood, but now I'm thinking about doing copper. I love how it gets a spotchy patina look.

We've had Titanium granite for nearly 2 years. Luckily both DH and I fell in love with it when we chose it and still admire the different swirls and patterns in it. It seems to be maintenance free, and does not require re-sealing.

I am wondering what Stellaalto (the OP) thinks of all these responses. Are they helpful, or making her realize how many great choices there are, and how hard to choose just one? I ADORE soapstone, but know myself, and knew I didn't want patina. So I chose Virginia Mist granite which has a similar look to soapstone and is bulletproof. The Virginia Mist slabs vary in appearance; I got one with a lot of sprinkled "sugar" on it. Other slabs might be more uniform with not a lot of the "sugar". It's personal taste.

sedna/magma gold granite....love it and would do again in a heartbeat...maintenance free, haven't sealed it or needed to in 3+ years..easy clean and love the variations....

Crosscut White Macaubus Quartzite with honed Virginia Mist stove perimeters. Bulletproof.

Installed honed Perla Venata (Taj Mahal) quartzite recently. I LOVE it. I wanted tan/off white tones, since my cabinets are off white. And the honed surface is gorgeous.

I have typhoon Bordeaux granite in my kitchen now and love it. In fact I was all set to get it again in my new build if I couldn't find something I loved more. Well here is my new love. Fascination Quartzite

Going granite shopping this week myself. I really like that Virginia Mist. Will have to see if I can find that.

madre perla quartzite, it's everything I dreamed it would be….just perfect. I would do it again any day and next time maybe honed just for a change. I stare at it everyday:)

Honed Carrera, love it. Goes beautifully with our bright blue cabinets and darker wood floors and moldings. Maintenance is easy; we have a couple of dings (from dropped items) but no chips or etches yet....give us time.....

Cambria Whitney. I chose it cuz I loved it. No other reason. Been living with it since November and I still love to look at it and I even like to clean it.

All my counters are stainless steel. Never any worry about spills, smells, heat or anything else. 0 maintenance except spraying with counter cleaner and wiping off. Once or twice a year I wipe them down with alcohol to sanitize. They are getting patina and look great. Here's a link to my kitchen so you can see what they look like.

I had marble in a previous kitchen. Gorgeous but I had to reseal ever 6 months and watch out for spills, stains and etching but it was not one of the Carraras or Danby which are more durable.

Moved into a house with laminate counters that were 20 years old and still going strong. Replacing with matte black laminate with a sleek metal edging.

I currently have a light colored almond laminate counter in my kitchen and I dislike how easily it stains and I dislike the seams. When I redo the cabinets, I want a nicer counter and I seem to have a diversified taste and there are so many I love as I have samples all over my current counter. I love the Danby Imperial Marble, the Bianco Romano Granite, the Taj Mahal granite/Quartzite (not sure which this is), The Alaska White, The River White, and others. I know the newer laminates have greatly improved and the Corian Samples are nice also but I think I want a little more movement.

Corian Glacier White. We've had laminate in one house and granite in 2. Corian is by far our favorite...the feel, look, utility, seamless nature of it. I really like matte finished quartz I've recently discovered, but otherwise Corian is my favorite surfacing material.

We have Caesarstone Buttermilk in our cabin and love it. Easy to maintain, looks great, and the light color doesn't allow stuff to hide on it. Currently have a mottled brown granite in our condo and can't wait to get rid of it. It's pretty bullet proof, but it is so easy for muck to hide on it. Unless I run my hand over it, I can't tell whether or not it's completely clean. Will be replacing it with a light colored quartz next year. Have also had soapstone in a 1910 Craftsman home in the past and loved that, too. Stuff didn't really hide on that either like it does on the granite.

We've got white Statuarietto marble. I absolutely love it. It's so pretty that I don't mind doing the extra work since it's a high maintenance countertop in terms of drips, etc. My husband hates it. He likes things to always look pristine and new and there are definitely tons of etches already and we've only had it for 5 months. I don't notice them and they don't bother me but it kills him.

Beleza soapstone. We both love it. We leave it natural (no oil or wax).

I have Vermont Antique Verde serpentine. It is a very dark green with white veining. It does not etch or stain and it is very easy to maintain.