Panasonic KX-TG1032S

The Panasonic KX-TG1032S gets more consistently high ratings from both experts and owners than any other cordless phone. It's also very full-featured, with details that can be hard to find -- including a headphone jack -- but minus one important extra: a backlit keypad. Reviewers say this Panasonic has a decent range, great voice quality and virtually no interference as it uses Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) technology and operates on the 1.9 GHz frequency band that's reserved for cordless phones only. Professional reviews say the Panasonic KX-TG1032S is a good choice for large families because it can handle up to six handsets (it comes with two). The digital answering machine on this cordless phone has one mailbox, with 16 minutes of recording time. If you don't need an answering machine but still want a capable 1.9 GHz DECT phone, consider the AT&T EL51209 (*Est. $40).

ConsumerReports.org rates 34 cordless phones, and Good Housekeeping tests 27 models. Both include the Panasonic KX-TG1032S in their reports, though ConsumerReports.org requires a subscription for access to its ratings and the review at Good Housekeeping is becoming dated. We found more than 400 owner reviews at Amazon.com, as well as enough reviews at Epinions.com, PC World and Newegg.com to get a good idea of the phone's real-world performance.