My Number 1 thing I need is reliability, so I look a lot of the reviews because I do not having to put my machine in the shop like I did with my 1973 Singer machine. Then I look for the throat space, I want to be able to quilt and getting into a very small space is hard, so I bought the Janome MC6600 because it was the largest for what I could afford. Since I learned to sew on the 1949 Singer 15-91 that my mother got as a wedding present, I still love to use it and the little sister, the 221 (Featherweight). I do like having decorative stitches because they come in handy for thin quilts. I finally did invest into an embroidery/sewing machine with a larger hoop. So I am not concerned with a lot of bells and whistles, I just want a machine to do what I need it to do.