Have a friend that owns a 1-800-JUNK franchise. The brand of the beds they haul to the dump the most often is Casper he tells me. A mattress is not where you should try to save money, just an FYI.

Both my better half and I have back issues. Trust me, an expensive wool topper will not compensate for a bad mattress. Put the money there (and personally, I'd go for the firmess of an inner spring over memory foam every time).

We love our memory foam but it is a better quality mattress & heavy. Next time I will get 2 XL twins because they will be easier to rotate.

I cannot stand innerspring and will not look at those. I want memory foam. (latex and innerspring are both too bouncy / jiggly.)

I was mainly asking about the wool topper because I already have it, I love it, and don't want to get rid of it. it was premium and expensive. but I'm worried putting it on a mattress with a built in topper will make it too soft. so I'm looking for recommendations of a firm memory foam mattress to put it on. I'm ok with spending some money.

I do think it's ok to cheap out a little depending on your particular setup. my sister has had an Ikea memory foam mattress with an added topper for over five years and loves it. I've slept on it too. so I feel like it is possible. (ultimately I eliminated Ikea because some reviews said the edges did collapse -- my sister sleeps in the middle often so it's not a problem for her).

spending more does not exactly equal quality either. our last mattress was from a locally owned store, and the product was made in portland and supposedly had a good reputation. it was designed to be flippable and everything. it lasted three years before sinking, and that was with me religiously flipping it ever single month.

Go to a good local mattress store and spend some time on the mattresses.

I spent several days looking for my new mattress and revisited stores.

I wound up getting a mattress at a local place where the owner was extremely knowledgable. I got a brand on his recommendation which is made locally and therefore doesn't spend lots of money on advertising.

The construction of my mattress has a comfort layer of latex with the top layer being merino wool for temperature control. It is completely covered in cotton. The core of it is high density foam. I love the mattress as it feels as though I am sleeping on a supportive cloud :-). My friend came over a few days ago and was using the bed to try out the Apple TV and said that she liked it so much she was thinking of replacing her current mattress.

In terms of a platform I have an adjustable bed frame which coupled with my mattress is the absolute best for sleeping comfort. The actual headboard and frame are purely decorative since the mattress sits on the very solid adjustable bed platform.

thanks Helen! what is the adjustable platform? what brand?