Eric wrote:

I've heard mixed reviews of Dyson, so I'm not sure what the real story
is there. Miele seems to be well-regarded but expensive ($300?!). Just
heard someone talking about a low-cost brand called "Emer" but I'm not
familiar.

I would avoid any bagless vac or canister vac without a motorized head (the kind
where the brush is driven by airflow alone). The last vac I bought was a Kenmore
canister with a Powermate head and it does quite well. Was about $100 less than
retail at a Sears repair center. Sears has stopped the madness of using a
different bag number for every model vac they sell and now generally holds to a
single bag type for uprights and canisters.