I'm having a new kitchen installed as we speak. I much prefer laminate like Formica or Wilsonart, but it is not in style these days. If you dropped a glass on the hard stone surfaces that are popular now, it would shatter. The hard surfaces are VERY expensive. And I just don't care for the cold hard feeling.
If I had to choose a hard stone, I'd go with quartz because it is more maintenance free.
It took a while to find a company that still makes the laminate counters, but that is what I'm going with.