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The year 2010 was filled with some of the coolest new products we've seen in the past decade: TVs that give you a theater-quality 3D experience, the addictive Apple iPad, and lots of supersmart phones. Advances in technology like "green" paints also wowed us. This year was the first time that an environmentally friendly brand beat out all the other paints. We were also awed by fast, sleek induction ranges that now cost a third less than they did about a year ago. Those products and several others made our first annual hot list. To pick those items, as well as all of the other top products shown on the next eight pages, we sorted through thousands of appliances, electronics, foods, beverages, health and beauty products, and other stuff that passed through our labs this year. In addition to innovative products that performed well, we included items with great designs (Dyson's bladeless fan and Levi's slimming jeans) and ones that were simply outstanding in their class (Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream, for instance). We also saw our share of clunkers, which you can check out in The Loser List.
These Asics aced our lab tests and got the thumbs up from staffers, who logged 132 hours in 13 pairs of sneakers. They're not cheap but they're excellent for fit, breathability, and stability.
Though it's targeted at women of color, this kit did a great job turning all of our hair samples a deep, warm brown. Plus it's cheap, easy, and ammonia-free.
During our fit tests using female staffers, we were wowed by the figure-flattering effects of these tummy-flattening, curve-smoothing jeans.
It's no miracle worker, but this drugstore wrinkle fighter smoothed lines in almost as many users as the top-rated Dermasilk serum that cost twice as much.
It keeps teeth sparkling with three cleaning modes, a sensor to help you avoid brushing too hard, and a smiley face to let you know that you're done. (*Tested model has been discontinued and replaced with Oral-B Professional Care SmartSeries 4000.)
Need a reminder to think thin? This flashy little red digital scale can help get you on track. It was consistently more accurate than the old-fashioned dial types we checked.
New engines have made the American sports car even more fun to drive. If you'd prefer the wind-in-your-hair Mustang experience,
go for the V6 convertible, $27,000.
Redesigned for 2011, this sleek, swoopy-looking sedan is a head turner. It also impressed our test-track drivers with its
much-improved performance. It gives you a lot for the money, including an impressive 27 mpg overall.
With its new design, the 2011 Sorento now ranks among the best of the small SUVs. It has a comfortable and roomy interior
and offers an optional third-row seat. That seat is tiny, but it extends the seating to seven.
This all-wheel-drive, SUV-like wagon gives you a comfortable ride. It also offers a roomy interior, with plenty of cargo space,
and gets good gas mileage of 24 mpg overall. Plus Subaru has a good overall reliability record.
Fun
to drive and fuel efficient, this versatile hatchback is among the best
small cars we've tested. Its cabin is roomy, the
ride is smooth, and its diesel engine
delivers an outstanding 38 mpg overall with a manual transmission.
Ford Mustang, $28,680 (V6), $36,310 (V8)
Hyundai Sonata GLS, $21,800
Kia Sorento EX, $32,390
Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited, $30,099
Volkswagen Golf TDI, $24,764
The best e-reader got even better this year. Amazon's latest version of its Kindle is lighter and has faster page turning,
plus its batteries can go for 10 days of frequent use.
It won't replace your laptop, but it's pretty cool—and more portable, which is why we like this e-reader, Web surfer, video
and music player, and digital picture frame all rolled into a slim tablet.
We love its tiny price tag, its simple, easy-to-use design and the handy clothes clip. And although it's just slightly bigger
than a postage stamp, it holds hundreds of songs.
This cute Canon gives you top-quality photographs and packs a lot—14 megapixels, 4x zoom, and very good video—in its slim
little package.
It will get you where you want to go for a lot less than most GPS units. Plus it has vivid graphics and fab extras such as
spoken street names and Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free driving.
There are so many new phones, it was hard to pick just one. These three computerlike models won over our testers with their
easy-to-use touch screens, e-mail tools, music and video capability, cool apps, and a lot more.
Most big manufacturers have come out with 3D sets, but the eye-popping viewing on this 50-inch plasma HDTV blew us away. It's
also great for watching regular TV, and the price is reasonable.
Amazon Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi, $190
Apple iPad, $500 to $800
Apple iPod Shuffle (2G), $50
Canon Power Shot D1400 IS Elph, $220
Magellan Maestro 4350, $150
Motorola Droid 2 (Verizon), HTC Evo 4G (Sprint), Samsung Vibrant (T-Mobile), each $200 with two-year contract
Panasonic Viera TC-P50VT20, $2,600
It's a bit of a splurge, but out of the 15 popular gourmet varietals we evaluated, this Kenyan brew from Whole Foods was the
only coffee that rated excellent with our expert taste testers.
For quick, easy comfort food, pop these refrigerated spuds into the microwave. Their creamy, buttery flavor put them ahead
of 11 others we taste tested.
Of the 12 ready-made smoothies we taste-tested, this was the top bottle, a yummy blend of fresh-tasting fruit that provides
your vitamin C fix for the day.
At only 50 calories per 2 tablespoons, it's diet-friendly. Plus it has 3 grams of fiber, the most of any of the 48 dips we
rated for nutrition.
It was so creamy, dense, and flavorful that tasters dubbed it a top vanilla. Too bad the best ice creams also tend to have
the most calories; this one's no exception!
For a special white, look no further than our top chardonnay pick. The rich mix of buttery, vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch
flavors, balanced by crisp acidity, won over our professional wine tasters.
The straw flasks are long gone, but great, inexpensive Chiantis live on. This bottle was excellent. Thanks to its delicious
fruitiness and food-friendly acidity, it outshone seven other Chiantis we tested this year.
Allegro Kenya Grand Cru, $17.32 per pound
Bob Evans Original Mashed Potatoes, 67 cents per serving
Bolthouse Farms Strawberry Banana Fruit Smoothie, $1.41 per serving
Cedar's Roasted Red Pepper Hommus, $3.30 per 8-ounce package
Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean, $1.13 per half-cup serving
Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve 2008, $12
Toscolo Chianti, 2008, $10
This paint scored highest of all 51 tested, and it was the first that was low in volatile organic compounds (linked to pollution) to earn the top spot. Plus it primes and paints in one coat.
Besides the vacuum, you might want to keep a can of this foamy carpet cleaner on hand to tackle stains. In our tests, it worked best on splotches of red pasta sauce and French dressing. It was also pretty good on coffee and red wine.
Single-serve coffee machines are red hot and even starting to become office staples. This maker brewed a cup closest to the joe from a regular drip machine.
It whirred up smoother smoothies and purées and was great at grating and crushing ice. The touchpad controls are easy to clean, and it gets style points for a sleek design and brushed-metal finish.
It excels at getting nasty stuff like lead and chloroform out of tap water and filters up to 2 gallons a day; that's more than a dozen small plastic bottles.
If all you want from a toaster is toast, you can find cheaper models. But if you want consistently even, perfecto toast, plus eye candy for your kitchen counter, this toaster is the one to buy.
Though it's crazily expensive, this fan is a standout for its sleek loop design and lack of exposed blades, which makes it fun to look at and safe for little fingers. And test panelists said it felt great, too.
Some early CFLs had flickering, harsh light, but this bulb has none of those problems. It casts a warm glow and saves about $6 a bulb per year in energy costs.
Until now, many phosphate-free, eco-friendly dishwashing detergents have been a wash, but these Finish tabs got the toughest stuck-on glop off our dishes without leaving spots.
This front-loading washer caught our attention for its great price (it performs better than machines costing twice as much) and its primo water and energy efficiency, which can trim your utility bill.
Steam technology is being built into all kinds of appliances, including washers and dryers, and it doesn't always make a big difference. But the combo of heat, steam, and water was really powerful in this floor mop. It was the best of 10 models at removing our tough, sticky messes.
This household staple really lives up to its name. It held all the bits and pieces of wood and metal that we threw into it plus 25 pounds of weights without breaking and spilling everything.
For the second year in a row, a Hoover model has been our favorite vac. This one aced our carpet- and bare-floor cleaning tests and was great on pet-hair pickup.
No room for a hefty stand mixer? This hand model packs speed and power, beating stiff dough almost as easily as billowy cream. And it's surprisingly quiet.
You can spend a lot on frosty drinks at the java joint or whip up your own in this combo blender/coffeemaker. It's a first of its kind for home use and works great.
This glove can take the heat. It held out twice as long as regular mitts in our flame tests before melting or igniting. (Don't try this at home!) And it briefly handled pots right out of a 540° F oven.
It comes in six colors to brighten cookouts, is a light 24 pounds, and does a great job of grilling. It consistently turned out juicy salmon and chicken with nice sear marks in our tests.
Until recently, you had to pay a few thousand dollars for superfast induction and convection technologies. This well-priced range combines those features, and it excelled in most of our cooking tests.
We soaked, scrubbed, and loaded wet paper towels up with little lead balls to check their strength and absorbency. Viva Kleenex was the cheapest of our four winners.
OK, we know they're a splurge, but there's an innovative design touch that makes us love these fitted sheets: They have an extra-wide elastic band (like men's boxers) that keeps them in place.
Oscar Mayer might have a memorable TV jingle, but these store-brand franks were tastier—juicy and slightly smoky—and 10 percent cheaper!
It's simply the best deal in multis we found. They were the only ones we tested with the USP seal (meaning they were checked for quality, purity, and potency.)
This green brand was great at cleaning for half the cost of top-scoring Tide 2X Ultra. It works best in an HE washer.
Our testers are always on the lookout for great new store-brand products that can save you money, but even we were surprised when beer made the list. This variety pack of 24 bottles is cheap, but it doesn't taste that way. In blind tests, untrained tasters liked the brews about as much as pricier name-brand beers of the same styles. Cheers!
Target says that the recipe might change; we hope not too much! These nuggets were so crispy, tender, and chicken-y, we didn't need dunking sauce.
Its UVA and UVB protection rivaled those of big-brand sprays for half the price, and it met SPF claims even after our water tests.
Using it correctly isn't easy, and some testers had lower-back discomfort.
It didn't clean the air, and it kind of looks like a urinal with a plant in it.
The price is nice, but that's the only nice thing we can say about it.
It ran out of steam and dragged on our clothes.
Prepare to age, naturally.
It doesn't add much oven space; it won't fit a 4-pound chicken.
This toaster doesn't consistently make good toast, but it can do paninis!
Glad's heavy-duty claims were trashed by the competition.
It's voice-activated, if it likes your voice. If not, no joe for you!
Easy to prep, but the flavor was hard to swallow!
We had to juice slowly or it would jam.
This pricey Jag got the worst score of all the cars in our latest reliability survey.
This purchase is a bad call with its spotty reception.
The de-wrinkling dryer ball isn't so hot; you still need Mr. Iron.
It clipped on but didn't keep bugs off.
Just stick with regular detergent and fabric softener.
Don't pay $900 for a micro that steams; steam on the stove.
It cut unevenly, and all that slapping made our testers' hands hurt.
If you'd rather not know the truth, you should pick this scale.
This rough rider doesn't let you forget you're driving a truck.
It's cheap, but you get what you pay for: a noisy and uncomfortable ride.
Leave the slow cooking to slow cookers, not microwave ovens.
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