Brother and Viking both have my vote. I have the diamond deluxe and love the large hoop sizes. Check with the dealers, you can get store models or ones from events at a great price and they still come with the warranty and some are so close to brand new and yet you did pay a 2nd hand price. Decide on what's the smallest hoop size you'll be willing to settle for. I could never go below a 5x7 and actually when I got my brother this past year I made sure it went larger than the 5x7, I rarely use a small hoop, sometimes I do two projects at once in one hooping. Check your different dealers, see what customer support/classes they offer and what features different machines have. Go to different ones. You will find so many different people like different machines and you need to find what works for you. Will you be quilting with it, or doing labels, make these decisions so that you'll have a better chance of getting the most for your money at the beginning and not wishing yours could do what it can't. Good luck. There is a lot out there to check out.