Lots of good vac...
I think there are a lot of good ones. Someone else's top choice may not be your's.
I like the Sanitaire redline commercial or blueline uprights alot. I have two metal topped blues and a grey topped red. They clean very well but are loud and have a brutish kinda vibe to them. Coarse and tough, not an elegant machine, but proven and gets the job done very, very well.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Sebo Felix. I love mine. It's quiet, light, very nimble and maneuverable, a real joy to use. I haven't used it a ton, but others report that it cleans and grooms very well. I like how you can switch out the powerhead and attach a parquet head for dedicated hard floor cleaning. Interesting, because it's so much quieter than the direct air Sanitaires, you'd think it couldn't clean as well. I can't tell you because of my limited experience with it, but folks think it's one of the best vacuums. Again, it handles like a dream.
I have a bunch of Tacony vacs. A couple of Riccar 8000 series, a couple of Simplicity 7000 series, a Carpet Pro, and a Dustcare 6500C commercial vac which I don't think is Tacony but seems to be nearly identical inside (this vac was also once marketed as the Bernina 6500). Some folks don't like the Riccars or this style of vac. Well, I've only used the Dustcare with any regularity. I love it. As part of my job I clean up houses and apartments after tenants have moved out and this vacuum is fantastic. Some of the houses are trashed, and this vacuum does a fantastic job with the carpets. If you get the hose kit, you can plug it into the back and use the tools. Cleans great, not too loud. A real durable workhorse. One of my favorites. The Carpet Pro an affordable commercial/heavy duty vac with similar performance. The quality of the wheels and input hose, etc, make it feel more like a budget model compared to the others. Still, it's got the same components where it counts. Depending on what kind of environment you're in,you may want to look towards the commercial vacs with longer cords. I have a Carpet Pro CPU-1, which is the same vac but with a shorter 2 prong cord.Worth checking out this style of vac.
Windsor Versamatic. Love this vac, too. Quiet and performance feels absolutely solid. It has a feel of durable quality. Very solid feeling, both in build and performance. My only quibble with it is it's heavy. Annoying if you've got to go up and down stairs with it.
Dyson DC23 turbine head canister. Love this vac, too. Some say it can't deep clean very well because of the turbine head. I don't know if that's the case or not, but it cleans very, very well in my GF's house. I just used it last night and I swear it has this interesting effect of making the air seem very clean and breathable after vacuuming. I'm not just saying that because I'm a Dyson fanatic (I'm not - have an objective love of this vac, but would be willing to dislike it if warranted). It's an effect both my GF and I notice. She mentioned it after I was done, and I've noticed it after she vacuums. Don't know what's going on, there, but the effect is real. I don't know if you notice this with your upright or not. People are way into or way critical of the Dysons. In my experience with the DC23, a very good vac.
One that I don't really recommend if you're only going to have one vac: vintage Electrolux Epic or Prolux upright. I think it's a good vac for light cleaning, but doesn't vibrate enough or have enough suction for deep cleaning. Probably pretty good on short knap commercial carpet, but I'm not sure on higher knapped carpet. I like the versatility and use it for surface cleaning after I've deep cleaned with another vac. I like the way you can switch off the head motor and use it like an electric broom on hard floors. Apparently the current Aerus Guardian models have much more powerful motors and perform much better than these older models.
Hope you find one that's right for you!
