You also have to decide if you want to use rayon, acrlic, cotton for your thread. I agree, buy a couple on sale if possible and try them out. Why not pick out a simple pattern with just a few colors and buy a couple of brands and make samples and see what you like. I use a lot of RobisonAnton, Sulky, YLI, and Janome. Metallics are a catagory all onto themselves.