Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Forget Oreck and Never Mind Dyson! I am rarely compelled to write reviews, but this fantastic vacuum warrants a 5-star review. I have owned an Oreck upright ($400 plus) for about 8 years and a Dyson canister vacuum ($400 plus) for two years. This Shark Navigator Pro leaves them both in the dust, which is only fair since they left the dust behind in the first place! With shedding pets (cat and dog), I'm always pulling out the vacuum both on "Satur-cleaning-day" and mid-week. This Saturday, halfway through vacuuming the first floor, I accidentally sucked up a cat toy with the Oreck upright, causing it to start spitting out the contents of the bag. I went upstairs to retrieve the Dyson canister to finish cleaning, which I did. (As an aside, I'm a little bit of a clean freak (most people clean before the cleaning lady comes over, well, when I had a cleaning lady, I cleaned after she left) and have a vacuum on each floor.) I debated with myself about taking the Oreck in for service or just getting a new vacuum since it was already 8 years old and I never really felt it cleaned carpets well enough. Still, even with the less than stellar performance on carpet, my house is 90% hard floors, with carpet only on the stairs and second floor hallway. Every other surface is hardwood or porcelain tile, which the Oreck handled well enough, and it was lightweight and relatively compact. During the debate I was having with myself on whether to fix the Oreck or buy a new vacuum, I happened upon a Shark Navigator infomercial. I was impressed with the Dyson comparison and especially with the lift-away canister feature none of the Dyson's have. I did a little research online, read all the favorable reviews, and today headed to Bed Bath and Beyond with a 20% off coupon (I love Amazon for most everything, but $40 off was worth driving to the store). I put the Shark together (something I also had to do with the Dyson canister) in about ten minutes, following the easy-to-understand directions, which I recommend reading first, then assembling. I plugged in the vacuum, and went over the wool runner I just vacuumed two days prior with the Oreck (pre-cat toy fiasco). Talk about horrified! The canister kept filling up and I was beyond disgusted. I vacuum at least once a week, which no one would ever believe based on the contents of the canister! I next vacuumed the area rug that I had vacuumed with the Dyson (post-cat toy fiasco). I didn't expect to see anything close to what I saw on the runner vacuumed with the Oreck, but there was enough dust from that area rug to raise an eyebrow or two -- especially when you consider the price of the Dyson compared to the Shark. Why pay twice as much for something that honestly doesn't do even a little bit better of a job than the Shark! People, I kid you not, I cannot overstate how well this vacuum works. Even though I have 90% hard floor surfaces, I am not sure why Shark bothered with the hard floor attachment. It seems like a great idea, but as far as I'm concerned, the base unit itself does a great job on hard floors (just turn off the beater brush, which is easy to do). I tried the lift-away feature and pet attachment and it works really well. As I mentioned, with dogs and cats, there's always hair someplace, and the Shark did great even on long cat hair. Finally, some reviewers have complained about the plastic parts on this vacuum. Yes, and so? The Dyson is also made from plastic, and costs twice as much! All the plastic parts seem solid enough. If there's something bad to say about this vacuum, I don't know what it could be. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best vacuum for the money, and even for twice the money (sorry, Dyson). Period.