I'll cast my vote for Dyson... I had a discussion with the local Miele dealer and was tempted... so I brought my 10 year old Dyson in to his shop and let him vacuum first fully expecting there to be nothing left for the Dyson. To my, and his, surprise, the Dyson pulled up tons of dirt left behind. When we reversed the test... the Miele pulled up almost nothing after the Dyson. I live with 3 Great Danes which freely roam 10 acres of dirt and mud and I wouldn't be without my Dyson. The Dyson also does and excellent job on area rugs and hard surface flooring and it makes very short work of getting the dog hair up in the SUV after a trip to the dog park