CR Staffers’ Favorite Things of 2024

I bought this Ninja toaster oven on the recommendation of my colleague Tanya Christian, and I absolutely love it. Sure, it looks almost comically large on my kitchen counter, but it’s worth every square inch of real estate—not surprising, considering its impeccable performance in our lab tests. It offers a ton of versatility. I can roast veggies in the top compartment while air-frying chicken in the bottom compartment. It can even bake an entire family-sized frozen pizza! It’s so good that I use it almost daily—way more than my full-sized gas oven.—Daniel Wroclawski

I may be a disheveled mom in mismatched socks shuttling her kid to school in the morning. But there’s one thing I’m very specific about: my tea. I have at least 15 types of tea in my pantry at any given time. The thing is, each of my teas has its own suggested steeping temperature. These specs are meant to maximize flavor, but considering the volume of my collection, they’re hard to keep track of. That’s why I love the Cuisinart PerfecTemp kettle. It’s pricey for a kettle, but it’s indispensable to me because it has dedicated buttons for different types of tea, including green, white, and oolong (plus a temp setting for French press coffee, which, incidentally, is below boiling).—Althea Chang-Cook

I never really warmed up to cooking on a non-gas range—until I got this one. It replaced my electric smoothtop, which was falling apart. On this stove, water boils incredibly fast, simmering tomato sauce holds perfectly, without scorching, and baked goods emerge beautifully browned. And I love the air fry setting in the oven—it holds so much more than my countertop air fryer, allowing me to make enough food for my five-person family.—Paul Hope

I’ve written about the hazards of PFAS in water and scratch-resistant coatings. But at home, I admit, I was using a coated fry pan—part of a set I’d had for years. When the coating peeled like an onion, I could either cry or buy. So I ditched my entire set (pots too) and bought the CR Recommended Oxo Ceramic Professional Non-Stick Pan. I love it! My new 12-inch pan is crafted from hard-anodized aluminum, and it’s free of cadmium, lead, and PFAS. The pan is deep, and it cooks evenly when sautéing shrimp and garlic for my favorite scampi (and everything else, too). It’s also incredibly easy to sponge clean, even after searing green beans.—Keith Flamer

If you’re plagued by nighttime noise (whether from a snorer beside you or street traffic outside), you understand that a solution is worth its weight in gold. Thankfully, mine was reasonably priced, at $150. These Bluetooth-enabled headphones mask noise by playing from an app library of sounds (think white noise and naturescapes) while you snooze. I bought these after the battery on my beloved (and discontinued) Bose Sleepbuds finally gave out.

They fit comfortably and usually stay in my ears all night, in spite of the fact that I sleep on my side. And they’re half the price of the competing Ozlo SleepBuds. CR’s audiophile testers noted that the A20 buds don’t have great sound quality—and as a result, they’re not among our top-rated headphones—but given my plan to sleep through whatever they’re playing, I don’t mind.—Courtney Lindwall

When I’m doing my holiday cooking and my world smells like shallots and ginger and roasted mushrooms, I often wonder what it must be like being my dog, experiencing this olfactory overload 10 times over . . . or 100. I guess I’ll never quite have the superpower of Rugby’s nose. But when I pop on the Sony WF1000M5 earbuds and listen to jazz pianist Theolonious Monk’s 1963 album “It’s Monk’s Time,” I think I channel this a little. Cue up the first cut, “Lulu’s Back in Town,” and I hear all that harmonic interplay, plus the creaking of piano pedals and the crinkling of pages as the sheet music turns. Most of all, I hear Monk humming. Too low for the audience to hear, the High Priest of Bebop is gently vocalizing along to the melody on the Baldwin.

Suddenly, I’m no longer in my messy kitchen but in Columbia Studios on February 10, 1963. These Sony earbuds have made me something of a superhero (Fly on the Wall?) and I can’t imagine a more blissful way to spend 6 minutes and 4 seconds.—Allen St. John

Late one recent Sunday, I got a panicked call from my mother: Her laptop had been hacked! After I helped her change passwords and secure accounts, I told her I would get her a new machine, fast. This HP grabbed my attention. With larger keys, a versatile touchscreen, and facial recognition, it offered conveniences that are rare for a computer in this price range. It arrived within two days. It has been the best laptop a son could ask for. My mom aced the setup and has been bonding with her HP ever since. My take: Peace of mind is priceless.—David Schipper

A couple of years ago, when I received a new turntable as a gift, I asked Allen St. John to recommend speakers. He pointed me toward this pair of Edifiers and said it was one of the best-sounding sets of speakers CR had tested. The hefty price tag made me hesitant. I bided my time and struck when the moment was right: I grabbed the Edifiers on sale for the lowest price I’ve seen (before and since)—$279. They’ve been worth every penny; they not only sound great and work with my turntable when I want to listen to vinyl but also are Bluetooth enabled, so I can pair my phone and enjoy Spotify playlists as well. Perfect for my living room dance parties.—Mary Beth Quirk

The Atlas 80v Chainsaw really cranks up the FOMO for my neglected gas-powered Stihl. These chainsaws sit next to each other in my garage, and I swear the aging Stihl slumps a bit deeper into itself every time I grab its newer, battery-powered neighbor.

The Atlas is both powerful and utterly predictable. Push button, cut things. In contrast, my old Stihl may start up after a couple of pulls on the cord, or never. It’s loud, it’s messy, and its two-stroke engine requires me to leave a can of oil-gas mixture on the shelf, slowly going bad. I keep the older chainsaw for nostalgia, and in case I need to clear lots of downed trees and limbs when electricity is in short supply. Could happen. But for now, when a chainsaw-ish job calls, I just sidle up to the Atlas, snap in the battery, and go.—Jerry Beilinson

While my mattress is the single biggest investment I’ve made toward getting great sleep, this adjustable pillow might have had an even bigger affect. A colleague once described it as a “Build-a-Bear in reverse”: The Coop comes with instructions on how much filling to remove to get optimal support, depending on how you sleep. I move from my side to back during the night, and adjusting the filling to a sort of midpoint means I get decent support in either position—which makes it more Goldilocks. I can tinker with the filling until it’s juuust right.—Sara Morrow

In my small home sometimes my handheld vacuum becomes . . . the primary vacuum. Not intentionally, it’s just that one chore leads to another, and before I know it, I’ve covered a whole room. That’s no problem for the Black & Decker BDH2000L. Entryway littered with pine needles? Fine. Dusty baseboards? Let’s get ’em. Are we really doing the stairs again? Yes, we are!

The little brush that frames the nozzle is hinged, so you can flip it up and out of the way when you don’t need it. Genius! And there’s a built-in extendable crevice tool. Perhaps my favorite quality is that this vac is steady on its feet. It parks well in its base and doesn’t tip over at the slightest disturbance like some models I’ve had before. My only critique is of myself: I need to remember to bring this vac back home to its base, so it’s always charged and ready.—Danielle Claro

I say it to my husband every so often: “This is the best product, hands down, that we have purchased since having the baby.” I’ve tried a lot of strollers for work, and after living with a series of strollers—from SUV-style behemoths to tiny travel strollers—cluttering my living room, I’m relieved to be reunited with my trusty Nuna TRVL LX. It’s compact but sturdy. It’s nice-looking but not flashy. My baby is comfortable in it. And it integrates flawlessly with Nuna infant car seats.—Angela Lashbrook