After about 12 years, my old Rowenta toaster gave up the ghost yesterday. The carriage wouldn’t lock at the bottom, and the element stayed on. I need one that will accept a bagel. The old Rowenta had one long slot for two slices, so it would toast a long slice of a freeform loaf without cutting it in half; that’s not crucial, but it was nice.
Many things have changed since I last bought a toaster. There are some new names, and I’m making my own bread. Who makes a great toaster now?
This one is nice, and it’s only $340.
I believe my parents have this Cuisinart toaster, and it makes a very evenly toasted slice.
I love my Dualit toaster- we have the two-slice version of the one Winston Smith linked to.
if you wanted to be even more extreme you could alwasy get a Porsche
Or there’s the other end of the scale: the bargain toaster
I prefer this model.
Here’s what we have. The lever on the right lifts the slices out when they’re done. Never have a stuck slice again!
Oops, ours is slightly more advanced that that–ours has the special Bagel setting that toasts the inside more than the outside.
I went through this agony some months ago. I looked at Dualits, but couldn’t bring myself to spend that kind of bread (ha!) on a toaster that gets mixed reviews. I opted instead for the Aroma Prestige for about $60. It has wide slots for bagels and artisan breads and a good heat range. Also a button release to bring the bread up.
How about a Hello Kitty toaster. I don’t know how well it’ll do anything but toast the face of Hello Kitty on white bread, but it’s not too expensive.
Makes fresh slices from a loaf of bread and uses an infrared beam to toast perfectly every time.
Dammit - beat me!
Let me 2nd the T-Fal toaster. I suspect ours is the same as yours, Lute, since it has 3 buttons instead of 1 on the front, but we love it. Paid about $60 at Sam’s, if I remember correctly. I thought it was a little pricey at the time, and was really looking for a 4-slice toaster, but we’ve never regretted it!
I can’t imagine a kitchen without the basic Black & Decker toaster oven… it toasts, it melts, it re-heats… love it love it love it…
I’m sure that one would look good in my kitchen, but I don’t think I could afford the maintenance. 
I had one of those in the 4-slice model. It was okay, but not consistent. After a year, half the thing quit working.
Ohh… it toasts sammiches! Feed me toasted sammiches! :o :o :o :o
Oh, surely this one would toast your bread.
We have the four slice t-fal. It’s awesome. I admit I mostly love it for the flippers that shoot your toast in the air instead of having to go in after it with an implement and risking certain death*. Been going strong for a couple of years now. I hope it keeps going.
*Not that I ever did this, you know.
Thanks, everyone! After checking out all your suggestions and several others, we bought a toaster. We got the Queasy Nart that Cheesesteak recommended. Even toasting is an important factor. That was the main fault of my old Rowenta. We did a lot of wandering in stores, flipping levers and twiddling dials. Chefguy’s Aroma Prestige was a close second, but we don’t need four slots; we didn’t find a two-slot model of it.
My wife pointed out some serious drawbacks to getting the lovely toasters recommended by dogbutler and Rubystreak. 
Don’t know what a good one is. We don’t have one.
We have a Dualit, and I hate the thing. It’s a three-slice model. I’m assuming it must have been on sale (who the hell wants a three-slice toaster? Club sandwich junkies?). You have to raise and lower the bread with a lever. It’s very picky about what size/shape it’ll take: hamburger buns are always getting stuck. It doesn’t toast even remotely evenly. It is utter junk.
