Cooking appliances

54 ranges, cooktops, wall ovens, and microwaves make our top picks

Faster, more foolproof cooking for less money: That's the promise as more mainstream brands serve up induction heating, double ovens, interactive preprogrammed recipes, and other time-savers.

Our top picks, gleaned from heating, baking, and broiling tests of more than 100 models, deliver on that promise. Induction ranges, which use an electromagnetic field that speeds cooktop heating, are an example. Some cost $2,500 or more; the Samsung FTQ307NWGX sells for hundreds less and aced our cooktop tests. Mastering its electronic controls involves a learning curve, however. Samsung claims they're "as easy to use as your MP3 player," but we suggest keeping the owner's manual nearby. And as with all induction models, you'll need magnetic cookware for the induction elements to work.

Not ready for a full-induction range? Frigidaire's Professional FPCC3085K stand-alone cooktop teams two induction elements with two smoothtop-electric elements. At $1,100, it's a CR Best Buy.

Double-oven ranges, which let you bake a casserole in the smaller oven and roast a turkey in the larger one, are also dropping in price. GE's smoothtop electric JB850DP, $1,000, performed nearly as well as the top-rated GE Café range for far less. Just be sure to practice your deep-knee bends: As with other double-oven ranges, you'll need to crouch to remove items from the lower oven.

We also tested LG's new LWS3081 convection wall oven, $2,000, which includes a database of recipes that would make Grandma jealous. The company invites you to "bring out your inner chef" with black-bean and avocado crostini, Moroccan lemon chicken, and a library of other preset cooking programs on its touch-screen menu. But because you can't print out those recipes, you might prefer to use the cookbook that comes with this range when you're at your counter mixing ingredients. And while the LG's superb broiling should please steak lovers, mediocre baking kept it off our Recommended list.