I have the Sears single stage unit you mentioned and I like it a lot.
It handles snow very well, starts easy, and only takes up a little
space in my garage. Also, I like that it is NOT self propelled. You
can go as fast as you want (or the snow will permit). Sometimes I can
almost run pushing the thing down the sidewalk. Get done faster than
if I were to have a self propelled two-stager. I live 20 miles north
of Detroit and it has been a long time since I've had more snow than
the single stage unit can handle.

If you have a huge snow storm and a single stage blower, you just have
to get out there and start blowing a little earlier (before the snow
gets to be too much to handle).

Two-stagers are nice and have a lot of capability. But, in many places
they are just overkill.