Others can chime in but I think for all the freestanding brands are mostly depending on your luck to see if you get an unit that doesn't have problem. Each brand has their own problem, I have the LG which has the compressor issues and I had two service requests in 5 years due to the fridge not cooling already and one of the two was during this pandemic, so you can image how inconvenience it was! At the same time I have another friend who bought a LG around the same time I did and he has no issues with his. Good luck!

Stay away from Samsung! Ours has broken 4 times in less than 7 years. I've had many friends have the same experience with Samsung fridges and do not recommend them.

Do you need a big fridge? I have a Summit: smallish, counter depth, freezer on the bottom with no ice/water dispenser. It was between this and spending twice as much on a Liebherr. It's worked well for the 5 or 6 years I've had it.

We have a Blomberg counter depth fridge. Ice maker is in the freezer and water dispenser is in the interior of the refrigerator. I love my fridge but find you only get a couple glasses of cold filtered water - must be a small reservoir and it's a slow fill. Otherwise it looks and functions great.

You really have to list the dimensions of the refrigerator you are interested in. "Counter-depth" only refers to the depth of the refrigerator box, not including the doors and handles. Total refrigerator depth can vary dramatically. For example, the Fisher Paykel RS36A72U1N is 24-1/2" deep without the door handles and can fit in a 25" deep cabinet. The LG LRMDC2306S 29-5/8" deep without its door handles plus an additional 2" is required at the rear.

My Sub Zero has been extremely reliable over the course of its lifetime, which will be 21 years next month! It has no external water or ice dispenser.

If you are in need of a fridge in a short time frame, I've heard that there are shortages / backlogs / container ships stuck in customs; my folks had to replace their fridge earlier this month as their old one died and although they really wanted white (counter depth) there were none to be had in their area for at least 6 weeks. As they really couldn't go without that long, they settled for a stainless one. Just an FYI in case availability/time is an issue. There are other threads discussing this issue.

Good luck!

I have CD Kitchenaid with the internal water dispenser and the icemaker in the freezer. Looks similar to what Itsourcasa posted, different handles. I have had it about 6 years with no issues. Have you checked out the Bosch fridge? It has good reviews and some nice features at that price point. I am considering it as I start to plan my kitchen renovation.

"Best" is difficult because everyone values different things. I'll share my experience with the 2 counter depth French door fridges I've had.

My last house had a GE Profile from 2013 that was pretty but troublesome. That one had water/ice in the door, which didn't give me trouble, but the ice maker was very slow. I had an issue where the freezer's defroster element created water buildup on the fan blades that then froze. Happened twice and I lost all my food. I wasn't thrilled that GE service took a week+ to come out (in Los Angeles, def not rural) and the "fix" was just to let the moisture dry out. And then another time the motherboard died. On the plus side, American brands tend to have parts readily available, inexpensive, and a good amount of self-help YouTube videos. I was able to confirm my suspected diagnosis, order the correct motherboard on Amazon, and install it myself following a YT video, for $150 vs. having a tech come out. That might be more difficult to do with a brand like Samsung or LG who generally have more limited parts availability. Anecdotally, one friend had the same fridge with zero problems, and another friend had a ~2015 GE Profile that had the same blade freezing issue.

My current place came with a pretty basic Whirlpool counter depth French door from 2019 and I like it so much more. The shelves are much deeper than the GE so I feel like I can fit significantly more stuff inside, despite being 33" wide vs. the 36" GE. Produce seems to keep better. This one has an ice maker in the freezer that is very quick. I do miss having a water dispenser, though. It runs a little louder than the Profile, but I personally don't find it bothersome. The same basic fridge platform is sold in the Whirlpool, Maytag, and KitchenAid brands so you can choose which design you like best.

I haven't used one myself, but the new Bosch 800 series with the dual compressors seem to be getting a lot of positive attention and would be worth checking out.

Thanks everyone! I appreciate all your thoughts and experiences. I’ll post when we get the kitchen going.

I have a Fisher & Paykel counter depth French door refrigerator. Only 18 months old, but no issues whatsoever. I did opt for no ice maker and no water dispenser - less to go wrong! 😊. That being said, the Bosch hadn’t come out yet when I bought mine; had it been available I certainly would have considered it..

Thank you. I’ll give both brands a look.

I have a 10 year old Fisher-Paykel CD refrigerator and it’s been problem free. I love the way it looks, too.
I’ve ordered another FP for my upcoming kitchen remodel.