Cuisinart Brew Central DCC-1200

The Cuisinart Brew Central DCC-1200 is the best standard coffee maker, according to reviews. Critics say this automatic-drip machine is much better than a basic, low-priced coffee maker, thanks to its durability, excellent coffee and features, which include a small-batch setting, a programmable timer and an adjustable-temperature hot plate. Owners say the nice-looking Cuisinart Brew Central is easy to clean. It also comes with an unusually long three-year warranty. If you don't want to spend so much, consider the Mr. Coffee JWX27 (*Est. $40), a basic, nice looking programmable coffee maker with a plastic housing (instead of stainless steel) and no small-batch setting.

Although the Cuisinart Brew Central DCC-1200 coffee maker is included in a comparison review of about 30 coffee makers at ConsumerReports.org, we found the most informative reviews for this Cuisinart coffee maker at Amazon.com, where more than 1,000 people have posted comments about it. We found another hundred reviews at Cooking.com and about 50 at CoffeeGeek.com, where the Cuisinart DCC-1200 is one of the highest-rated coffee makers in its price class.