Thanks Bathologi. I would love to have a kitchen with a High-End manufacturer like Viking, Miele or SZ / Wolf, but for budget purposes I am looking at these brands. Still a premium over most standard appliances, but not quite the $10k you'll need for many of those other brands.

Ditch the package entirely and buy best in class, regardless of brand. At your price range, Bosch DW, GE for cooking, VentaAHood For ventilation, and one of the Korean brands for refrigeration.

I agree, mix and match brands as the various manufacturers each have certain appliances that rate well, while other appliances from the same manufacturer don't rate well.

I love my KitchenAid dishwasher!