I previously owned:

Large Century sectional

Cisco sofas (2)

Duralee sofa

I currently have:

Cisco chairs (3)

Hickory Chair sofas (2)

Century stools (2)

Duralee chairs (2)

Bracci reclining sofa (suede)

American Leather recliners (2)

I was/am happy with all the brands. Lead times are what they are, and sometimes it is worth waiting for the item you really want.

The key is picking the best fabric for the use that the upholstered pieces will have. I learned that lesson early on. Spend more for a more durable fabric. These days I only get indoor/outdoor fabrics or Crypton/Teflon type fabrics.

Look at cushion fill too.

Also important, look for the abrasion "Rub rating" on fabrics, usually Wyzenbeek DR (double rubs). You might also see the Martindale rating. For a sofa that will get everyday use I don't want anything less than 75,000 DR Wyzenbeek.

Be aware that many of the fabric samples at the showrooms might not show the rub rating, but the salespeople should be able to find it. Demand they show it to you!

The Hickory Chair sofas are my latest buy and one of the fabrics I saw was the perfect color, but when I had the sales person get the Abrasion rating from the manufacturer, it was only 15,000 which is way too low for an everyday sofa. I ended up going with a COM fabric (customers own material) from JF Fabrics that is treated with Fibreguard and has a 100,000 DR Wyzenbeek rating.

Thank you for taking the time to respond with a detailed comment! This is exactly the type of info I was looking for.

Chispa's advice on abrasion "Rub rating" is solid gold. (And the rest ain't bad, either!)

Also the reason I had/have so many upholstered pieces is that we moved cross country and built our retirement house. I brought everything with me and took my time to figure out what I wanted to use. Some pieces I had reupholstered in new fabric, some pieces I gave away and I also bought a few new pieces that better fit the new house.

@chispa when looking at fabric samples I tend to shy away from some of the more durable ones because they feel too stiff and crunchy. Perhaps it's a habit from passing by clothes that don't have a nice feel.
Does the fabric stiffness ultimately not impact comfort?
Edited to add - I've never ordered furniture. I have always been lucky enough to find floor samples that ended up to be high quality and durable.

@Lynn Brenner

Sure, some of the indoor/outdoor fabrics might be a bit stiffer, but that actually isn't a bad thing for upholstery that will be used daily, as it should have less potential for stretching. These fabrics are no longer like the original Sunbrella canvas-like fabrics. Many of the new indoor/outdoor fabrics look and feel like chenille.

Most of the furniture brands have consolidated and are owned by a few companies, which means when you select fabric at the showroom you can pick from a bigger selection of fabrics in that family of brands, but there might be a small up-charge for choosing a fabric from a sister brand. Salespeople might not tell you that.

I got spoiled when I lived in LA and had access to a large Design Showroom, living close to a Cisco retail store and other designer showrooms. It was so much easier to be able to see everything in person, no more than an hour drive away (if traffic was good!).

As of late......nothing is what it used to be, and that includes every single brand above. Why is that?

I will give you an example. Hickory chair was always a go to for me. In the case of one favorite sofa which I used in three different homes over a five year period? The last one delivered in the past year. NOT nearly the sit comfort or support of the previous, and I mean astounding difference. The bounce of "return" felt under your fanny in a great couch, was not there.

What is going ON?!

Eight way hand tied no longer implies the quality it once did. Lighter springs......

Foam...........has more soy content

The front edge of the sofa frame,beneath the seat cushion.......was once a push down, BOUNCE back up, mark of quality, Now? Hard as a rock wood framing,

Why is that important? It is the destroyer of your seat cushioning, Consider it gone. Maybe Baker still has it as part of construction, not sure on Taylor King, as I haven't used a sofa from them in five years but I can assure you the feature exists on my own Taylor King, now 22 years old and as comfy as the day it was delivered.

The REAL answer? It can't be answered.

Fabric? Indoor outdoor is no longer stiff and crunchy. In COM , expect to pay 150.00 a yard unless you have a kind interior designer who discounts,

Performance velvets are fantastic, exceed 100,000 double rubs, and are generally 100% Polyester. Thousands of colors. . Fabrics that are 100% content, versus blends of two, will be less prone to pilling.

The last Taylor king I used?

Down below....supremely comfy!

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A Hickory chair I loved? To die for comfy? Used over and over in I lost count how many iterations? Along with same style chair?

Below........pre pandemic by a couple years

.Fabulous all.

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This too below, Hickory Chair...., pre pandemic, and super comfy with great style

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( COFFEE TABLES? LOL ONE OF THE MOST VERSATILE, , BULLET PROOF EVER!! SINGLE OR DOUBLE! ) Can not be beat for no coaster, no damage and sit on them strength! ) Four Hands

There WAS a time, decades ago, when even some of the mass market was well priced, and very decent. No longer true.

Below? Arhaus, the Filmore , slip covered and 25!!!! years old. In a room unchanged as she still loves it. Would I touch that sofa today? No.

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Now that I have bored you to tears? You will ask,,,,,,WHAT'S the answer!?

You sit, you buy what is comfy. You rotate and flip seats weekly when you vacuum the upholstery. You put a forgiving fabric on it, and when indulging in pizza? You toss a big throw over it. You keep the dog off it. Three seats, minus t cushion will afford the most rotation .....and have more longevity than two ever could. Single bench cushion? forget it. The larger the seat cushion, the less stable and that means seat OR back.

Now...you're bored and depressed, Me too.

Taylor King, Hickory Chair, Century, Cr Laine, Lee.........

Leather? Hancock and Moore, Taylor king. in that order.

Don't shoot the messenger: ) ( Lee? not so much,,,,,,,,,: ( ) and I might even put CR Laine ahead of Century..

I've thought long and hard about the two cushion versus the three. I've decided to order two cushion sofas because I think the style looks neater and a little more modern.

Most of the time it will be DH and I, I'm not that worried about the difference in the ability to rotate two cushions versus three. Our last sofa was two cushion and we didn't have any issues.

Not the sofa I've decided on, just sharing the photos so people can see a side by side difference between the two and three cushion.
We'll have two sofas plus other comfy chairs so there will rarely be worries about someone having to sit on the cushion split.

The sit on a cushion split is a non worry. .....an over rated hand wring: ) Do as you will,, and DON'T compare anything you buy today, with what you had years ago.

If two people and two couches and chairs? Probably will not matter.

I've had 3-seat sofas, 2-seat sofas and single bench seat sofas. They all have their pros and cons. They one I would never do again is the single seat.