The Today show this morning had a chef on (from America's Test Kitchen show) and was reviewing small kitchen appliances and he showed a pressure cooker!
He said the electric ones don't get hot enough to brown meat so he recommended to use the stove top kinds. He had a Fagor model on the show. And he said to be sure you have a good rubber seal inside the lid. If it's worn out or doesn't fit well you won't get pressure.
But I still don't think I'm brave enough to use one.