Like many emergent technologies, induction cooking is still relatively expensive. But the prices have dropped in the four years we've been testing these appliances. The Kenmore Elite 4280 cooktop (shown) is the least expensive we've tested and maintains excellent high and low heating.

See our buyer's guides to cooktops and ranges and ratings of electric cooktops and ranges (available to subscribers). And when you're ready to remodel you're kitchen, use our Kitchen-Planning Guide.

Bamboo flooring
Bamboo, a fast-growing grass, is a more-sustainable alternative to timber. That quality has made bamboo not only a darling of the green movement but also an example of bamboo-zling, a form of greenwashing in which manufacturers make dubious claims about bamboo-based products.

With bamboo flooring, floorboards are made with actual bamboo shoots that can be harvested in just four years. What's more, many manufacturers have switched to strand bamboo, which makes for harder flooring than strip bamboo. In our latest report on nearly 50 flooring products, EcoTimber Woven Honey bamboo and Armstrong Locking Hardwood Carbonized Natural EL58BCCNLG received the highest overall scores for prefinished solid-wood and engineered-wood flooring, respectively.

If you're redoing your floors, check out our buyer's guide to and ratings of solid-wood, engineered -wood, plastic-laminate, vinyl, and linoleum products (available to subscribers).

—Daniel DiClerico