We have a big Dyson we got as a last resort when we had the big hairy German Shepherd. Years later it still works great. I've used swiffer vacs for a long time on the hard surfaces, and then Dyson came out with the rechargeable cordless vac with a few attachments. It works on hard surfaces and carpet. It is spendy, but since our other one worked very hard and is in great shape (Hubby uses it when it is his turn to vacuum) I felt like this one would last a long time. It seems very light to me, not all that noisy. The one thing some people may not like besides the price is that you have to keep your finger on the "trigger" to keep it going. This is not an issue for me since I don't have any problems with my hands.