There are wonderful manufacturers out there....Janome, Bernina, Babylock......for workhorse, good class machine, I have to stay with Janome. Ask any repairman at your local machine dealer. My guy said the one he sees the least in his shop is the Janome. They are reasonable in price, lots of models. I have 7 Janomes of all models and use, never had a single one in the shop over 50 years.

I have berninas. I can't think of one machine I could love more. I do have my mother's old singer and it works great when I have it out to play with it. I have given both my sisters a bernina too. They love them.

I have a very “low end” Brother that has been sewing for 15-20 years and has never needed a shop service, and a high end Brother Quilting machine (12 years old) that just went to the shop for the first time (I messed up my needle threader doing something careless with it). While I respect all other machines (except the newer singers) I have Brothers because they were within my budget at the time, they have the features I wanted, and unless they suddenly fall apart, they will be my last two machines. I have had a Singer (meh) and a New Home industrial machine (I still miss “ Gertie”) who was lost in a fire in my grandmother’s barn when it “went up” to spontaneous combustion many rears ago. Four machines in sixty years and just had my first service call. Not bad. Lol.

(Sewing center repair guy took the thread and bobbin I had in it to try and figure out if I could fix it, and he gave a a long winded lecture about cheap thread and quality thread. Lol. I did explain not wasting my good thread, an he said it was still wrong. Lol. The replacement threader was $15)

Janome, for me. I started with a small one, and it was so intuitive for me that I knew I’d transition easily (I was going to say “seamlessly”—haha) to a larger Janome fir bigger quilts. I keep it serviced annually and have not had a lick of trouble. I tried other brands but the Janome “checked all the boxes” for me.

I have a Janome MC 6600 and love it but I have two friends that swear by their Bernina. I think it is what ever you feel comfortable with and what your needs are on a machine. My only suggestion would be sit down and try machines out. You may feel more comfortable with one rather than the other. Good luck in your search

Not true. Bernina's highest priced machine is $11,000. Babylock's is $13,000.

I'm a Bernina Girl!

My bet is the newest Babylock TOL is more than that. The new TOL Brother is $18,800 so the Babylock twin will be more.

Cari

I have a number of machines, all of them are Singers -- My first machine which my DH bought for me for Christmas the first year we were married is a Singer 328-K. It is still a very good, strong, operating machine, bought new in 1963. Still has the original motor in very good condition. I also have a Singer 403-A, a Featherweight, two Singer 750's - T & S machines, a Babylock serger, a Singer 201-2, a Singer 1425. I use the 201-2 for quilting, the FW for piecing a lot. I have reservations about the newer plastic machines -- the T & S Machines I have -- the plastic gears have "shelled out" a couple of times, but I have to admit these were machines my son trained on when he was working as a sewing machine mechanic and our cost was zero. The 201 we also got at zero cost, but it had to have some parts, and my son totally re-wired the electrical and we had to buy a needle plate. The 1425 I originally bought for my mom, but when she passed away, my dad wanted me to take it home with me, so I did. Another machine I have, which we inherited from my DH's great-grandmother -- a National Two Spool Treadle. It needs another cleaning and oiling, and the cabinet needs some work -- I really don't have room to set it up

For me it is Bernina but they are too heavy to take to classes so I vote for a Featherweight for that. Love every machine I have but in my sewing groups, I am the only one with a Berninas and a Featherweights. I think you check out different machines and you will find the one that is just right for you. QuiltedSunShine, the highest priced Bernina is $15,499.

When I was looking for a second machine to take to class, I looked at the brand of the machine I already owned because the learning curve would be shorter, the extra feet are very often interchangeable, especially those "special" tasks feet, the bobbins were the exact same, etc. No need to have to sort through different bobbins, feet, or settings when the manufacturers generally stick to the same basics for all their machines. The only main issue with this theory is when one machine is a 7mm and the other is 9mm, then the feet probably won't fit.
So if you are happy with your current machine, I say look at that brand for a light weight to take places.
That said, I love Janome machines and own three. the 15000, 6600, and the 3160 which is my take to class 12 pound machine. The bobbin is interchangeable for all three but the 15000 is a 9mm and the other 2 are 7mm so the feet are interchangeable between those 2 only.
Good luck in your search.

I recently purchased an Eversewn Sparrow 30 to take to classes, and I'm in love with it! It has a lot of features I didn't expect to get for what I was willing to spend, and the stitches are lovely. I believe the Eversewn company is affiliated with Bernina.

I own 3 machines....all Babylock's. My Babylock Melody is perfect for travel and sews like a dream....lightweigh, smooth, quiet, and a workhorse. It's new so I've been using it a lot to become familiar with features. I was given a brand new Babylock serger but I have to take a class to learn more. I forget which model it is. Anywhooo...love Babylock but I sat down at my LA's Bernina (massive deluxe model) and it sewed beautifully, too. Really, personal preference and pocketbook to find the one perfect for you. Good luck!

Well as I see everyone loves their particular machines. I'm a Husq Viking and Vintage Singer lady. What I find once you pick a particular brand (I have an SE sewing/embroidery combo) you put so much money into supplies for it...Feet, hoops I really have to stick w/that brand in the future because accessories are interchangable. Main reason I love my Viking is the foot lefts automatically for pivots, thread cutter and threader. I guess one of these days I'll investigate other brands for those particular items because now I'm spoiled and can't live w/o it.
But if I had to replace my Viking the newest combo goes for 15,500 and no way would I spend that on a new machine. Gone are the days of getting machines for reasonable prices.

What is “best” for one person is not “best” for another person.

My opinion is that the best machine is the one that does the job its user wants done and has the best, clearest maker manual use and care information as well as ongoing maker support. AND LASTLY BUT EXQUISITELY IMPORTANT, a service tech close to home.

This next paragraph is offered to support my opininatedness: I currently own an assortment of 6 sewing machines from my grandmother's Singer 66 through my father's last gift to me, a Husqvarna Designer Diamond Royale. I also own a Singer serger Merritt 14u44 and a Huskylock 936 serger. Yeah, kinda from historic-ish alpha to current omega-ish omega. A total of 8 and all of them work and get used. If I can, I do the servicing. If not, they get a kiss on the forehead, a pat on the fanny, and a trip to the service person. Only one of them has passed on - an Elna Super that I actually wore out; used beyoned repair.

Should I ever need a machine, I will be applying for your advice and support. Thank you for being there.

Pat

All my modern machines are Brothers and I can’t find fault with any of them. I have a lot of vintage singers too

Good for you! After reading around, Brother really gets my vote for new sewing machines in about every price class.

If I were in the market for a new machine and wanted to spend a whole lot of money, I'd probably feel most confident going with a Brother. Why? Because Brother doesn't only make sewing machines and with any luck they are leveraging their knowledge from other areas such as scanners, printers, etc to make a less finicky end product. I haven't read many horror stories. Tell me if I'm wrong.

Of course, I would never buy a TOL sewing machine. My sewing time and capabilities don't warrant it. For the money, I'd rather have a nice trailer to tow to campgrounds where I'd use some of my lesser machines on rainy days :) while still breathing in the mountain air. That would be an all-around joy.

After reading, seeing and hearing about recent sewing machines and being hugely disappointed in general, I've been researching true industrials, the non-portable ones used in sew in factories. Unfortunately Juki has figured out what a great option they are for quilters with their J-150QVP (which they've over-priced because they are marketing to quilters). I'd better get my industrial machine fast before the price goes up throughout the line.