Best is a relative term carrot. What are your goals and priorities for the project? Aesthetics, performance, warranty, value, maintenance, name recognition, color options, etc.... I like to recommend breaking down the material (wood, fiberglass/composite, or vinyl) first based on your priorities, and then look at some of the better performers once that is narrowed down.... Comparing a wood window and a vinyl window is kind of like comparing pickup and a compact car. Let's first pick the type of vehicle that fits you best, and then pick the best version of that type.

I’m looking for vinyl windows as stated in the subject of my post. By “best” I mean good quality that won’t warp or discolor in 5 years and is energy efficient and ascetetically pleasing.

Saw the title carrot, I was simply referencing the content which included fiberglass, and also referenced that your top choice would be Marvin if budget was not a factor. Marvin doesn’t make a vinyl window.

More to the point, if the choices mentioned, Sunrise makes a pretty good vinyl window on their higher end product. Personally I’d toss the rest on your list , with maybe a little consideration to that Lindsay product although I haven’t seen that one in a while. In Chicagoland you should also have access to top performers like Okna and Softliye Elements

Thank you. All I meant was we have a lot of windows to replace so if money wan not an issue we’d go with wood and or fiberglass, but as things stand I have to go with the most affordable option which is vinyl. We don’t plan to live in our house for more than 10-12 years, but it is in a nice suburb of Chicago so we can’t go with the cheap junky stuff. I find it surprising that none of these top rated window installers I interviewed recommended Okna and Softliye. That’s why I thought I’d ask this forum about the brands that they quoted me on.

Chicago is a huge market. I’m sure that you have dozens of window companies with good ratings, but only a select few can carry the top options. Be careful not to sell vinyl windows short. Premium vinyl choices will generally offer the best thermal and structural performance ratings of any material, and do so with a great warranty and low maintenance. You can’t beat the beauty of a wood window, but vinyl performance can be sensational if the right product is chosen. Familiarize yourself with the various performance ratings including u value, shgc, condensation resistance, air leakage, and dp. Comparing these ratings is a great object way to find a great product.

Carrot, I just went through a similar dilemma in the similar location as you albeit with sliding doors. From what you listed the Sunrise is probably the only one I would lean towards, but my quote was very high for sliding doors. I did get a very competitive quote for Okna, which is a very good product as well. I ultimately decided on a highly reviewed installer who uses Kensington HPP products. The price was very good, the efficiency numbers were great, and they come with lifetime warranty and labor. I haven't received my doors yet as I just signed, but everything has been top notch up to this point. Good luck

Thank you HomeSealed. Very helpful suggestions.

Keep in mind that window installers will tout the manufacturers that they have a relationship with, and poo poo the others. I had a rep tell me he likes heartland over sunrise bucause of their warranty, while the sunrise had a same or similar warranty with better performance ratings but he sure didnt want to talk about that. I also found most of the contractors i got an estimates from knew less about the windows they were selling than I did. Take their words with a grain of salt, and do your own research. This site is a great resource. From my experience, Okna, Sunrise, Softlite, & Polaris are your top tier vinyl( i think theres one I’m missing). its also important to know that each manufacturer has different grade windows, and their top one or two are normally significantly better than those below it. Homesealed asked a few good questions that i dont think you’ve answered. The more details you can provide about what you want, the better they can help you. “Best” is suggestive and of course depends on what your top requirements are (looks, colors, glass area, efficiency, air infiltration, glass package, price, etc). And on top of that, your installers are just as important as the windows themselves. If they poorly install a dynamite window, you now have an expensive window performing like a crappy window.

Thank you Steve. My current windows have lost their seal and are leaking a lot of air which in a Chicago winter is quite unpleasant. They are wood and painted white. I’d like to get quality vinyl that is energy efficient, attractive with a lot of glass space. We don’t have window covering on the downstairs windows bc they are quite private, so both the windows and the screens have to look good since we are looking at them all the time. Window frames will be painted white as they are now so we aren’t “missing” that wood look when we go with vinyl. I’ve noticed on some cheaper vinyl options, the seams are quite pronounced and sloppy so hoping Okna and Softlite have a cleaner look.

Very cool looking Homesealed ! Couple the look of the okna 1000 series with triple pane glass and you have a monster of a window.

welds are an inherent attribute of vinyl windows. The higher end windows do have cleaner welds and quite honestly, once the windows are installed, the welds become much less conspicuous.