Do they list their criteria? Some might favor quiet, others a variety of features, others durability ...

I assume Panasonic doesn't as aggressively market, a` la kickbacks for product placement. I've installed 3 Panasonic fans and have been very pleased with them.

I have several Panasonic Whisper Quiet fans (venting/heating) and they are much quieter than the Broans I previously had. I compared the mfr specs on noise decibel levels when choosing the fans.

Many of the "Best Of" sites simply use the ratings on Amazon and Google to create their lists or are compensated for bumping sponsored items.

I own two Broan Nu-Tone bathroom fans and had two Broan Nu-Tone bathroom fans in my last home. When I was originally shopping for a bathroom fan I looked for the fans that had the features I was looking for:

• Appropriate exhaust for my size bathroom
• Heat
• Light
• Quiet

The Broan Nu-Tone was the best fit and had excellent customer satisfaction ratings.

When I moved, the fans in the bathrooms were old and loud and didn't have lights or heat.

I replaced them with the Broan Nu-Tone because I was exceptionally happy with the performance of the fans that I had in my last home.

That said, I have lots of Panasonic electronics that I am very happy with. If I didn't have experience with Broan, I would consider Panasonic without hesitation.

I have a few sites that I trust for reviews: The Spruce, Popular Mechanics, CNET, Tom's Hardware, Wirecutter, (if purchasing a more expensive item I will spring for Consumer Reports for a month.)

The Spruce and Popular Mechanics both listed Panasonic and Braun in their top quiet bathroom fans.

When looking for something new I generally pick a few brands that come up consistently on the sites. I pick the model that best fits my criteria in each brand.

I usually check to see if any are available at Costco - I trust how Costco selects their products and love that their return policies are so generous, so things sold through Costco get a couple of extra brownie points.

Then I compare the products and the reviews on Amazon.

From that information I make my final selection.

BTW - currently Costco has the Broan Ultra Quiet Humidity Sensing Bath Ventilation Fan with LED light. It does not have heat, so it would not work for me (I keep my house chilly in the winter and like a warm bathroom when I step out of the shower or bath). I do really like the idea of the humidity sensor. It turns on and off based on the humidity levels.

Don't forget that every additional feature can mean that the wiring you have may need to be altered. The one in my guest bath has a switch for the fan, one for the heater, one for the light and one for the nightlight. (Other bathroom does not have the nightlight feature). Apparently the humidity feature takes a special switch.

I was having electrical updated in both of my bathrooms when I added the new fan.

In my last house when I had the fan replaced with the heater fan my ex-husband hired a handy man instead of bringing in our electrician and GC to install the fan. He knew I was a stickler for using my trusted workers, but thought he would save us money and did this while I was out of town.

They didn't replace the wiring and the heating unit required a higher amperage. The first time I used the fan the heater burned out and something smelled like burning plastic. My electrician came and said the guy could have burned down the house. I had to replace the unit and have things re-wired appropriately. Make sure that whoever installs your fan knows what they are doing.

Panasonic also tends to be more expensive than Broan or Delta, and I'm sure that factors into some lists too. We have Panasonic fans and are happy with them, but have never had the others so might be just as content with those too.

A humidity sensor as mentioned by @Jennifer Hogan is a great feature. I also like the timers installed by my electrician.

Thanks everyone - we went Panasonic in the end. Our house is largely Homekit controlled and the internal humidity sensor didn't seen to want to play well with Homekit control of on and off - so we went just with light and nightlight.