We have a 15 year old black Kenmore that came with the house. Have hated that black top and how bad it always looks. The oven temp runs about 50 degrees too hot and now it has started turning off mid-bake. Our handyman friend is so SLOW about getting a new igniter, we're thinking he's hoping we'll just buy a new stove.

Here's the thing: I love the look of a stainless top but those are the higher end stoves. We just saw one yesterday that we were pretty much ready to go with--KitchenAid KFGG500ESS--but then I went home and started reading reviews and most people agreed that the steam clean function is a joke, it's slow to heat up, it's hard to clean, scratches easily, the knobs have some kind of cheap covering that peels off, and so on and so on. "Piece of junk" and "deeply regret my purchase" was used more than once.

There was a Samsung I really wanted to get last year but it was on the high end of our budget, and I only selected it because of the stainless top. As I recall, the few reviews were mostly favorable. But now some people on our town's FB page want to get a class-action suit going against Samsung because of their lousy appliances, esp. stoves. What a coincidence. :-/

There's really not an appliance in our price range that doesn't have a lot of negative reviews. And so many of the positive reviews seem to be from people who have received the appliance as part of a promotion--how are you supposed to trust those reviews? I just don't know how to make a decision any more.

As far as needs/wants: I don't cook that much and the oven itself doesn't get a whole lot of use. The trickiest I get is an occasional cake and sometimes a loaf of bread. The cooktop gets much more use, but even then, I don't need a continuous grate with built-in griddle--almost impossible to avoid these days. (Where do you put a spoon rest? Is that a dumb question?) We have a heavy-duty Lodge griddle that we put over two burners when we want to grill up a burger or something. A very low simmer and high boil burner would be nice for pasta and sauce.

Sorry to go on so long. I just want a relatively basic gas range that's easier to clean inside and out, keeps to temperature as it should, and that's RELIABLE. It just seems that all appliances are so cheaply made these days that spending more money doesn't guarantee a more reliable product.

I appreciate any guidance you can give me!

P.S. White won't work in our kitchen that has black and stainless appliances.