Unbiased. Nonprofit. No ads or money from businesses we rate.
Find, rate, and compare home-improvement contractors, health-care providers, repair shops, financial services, veterinarians, stores, dentists, and more than 100 other types of service providers.
Boston area
Chicago area
Delaware Valley area
Puget Sound area
San Francisco Bay Area
Twin Cities area
Washington, DC area
Ratings of Primary Care Doctors, Specialists, and Surgeons
Ratings of Hospitals
Which Florists Offer the Best Service and Prices?
Skilled florists can interpret your tastes (or those of the recipient), determine what’s appropriate for the occasion, and then create a work of art that fits those needs. We'll help you pick the best.
Where to Buy Flowers for Less
If you want delivery, exotic flowers, or need advice, your best bet is a florist. But if you’re willing to pick up the posies yourself and want to save a lot of money, you have several other options.
What to Do If You Need an Out-of-Town Floral Delivery
When you need to send flowers to someone outside the area, what do you do? We review the options, and advise you on how to deal with each to ensure you and your special someone on the other end are happy with the results.
Where to Shop for Plants
Since most garden centers buy—rather than raise—most of what they sell, there is room for tremendous variation in buying standards and the quality of plants being sold. The opinions we collected from consumers on garden centers reflect these big differences.
Where to Find the Best Prices for Plants
Our undercover shoppers found huge price variation among garden centers—perhaps more than in any other subject we cover. Unfortunately, we found the lowest prices at big chains, which receive poor ratings from their customers.
Plotting Your Course for Plant Purchases
Make like an HGTV star and do a rough drawing showing your house, other structures, property lines, and desired plants. Get guidelines and ideas from gardening websites, friends with attractive outdoor spaces, and experts.
The Four Cs Classifications for Diamonds
The four Cs—cut, carat, color, and clarity—help determine a stone’s price. Pay attention to these guidelines, but don’t assume better grades are always worth higher price tags. You can spend a lot more money for a higher-grade stone when a lower-grade one will do.
Beyond the Four Cs: Other Factors to Consider When Buying a Diamond
When shopping for diamonds, in addition to seeing how costs are affected by cut, carat, color, and clarity, consider these other factors.
Why You Should Buy Lab-Grown Diamonds Instead of Mined Stones
Lab-grown diamonds, which are surging in popularity, are identical to mined stones but more ethical and far more affordable. Manufactured diamonds are actual diamond material (crystallized carbon); even gemologists can’t distinguish between the two without laboratory testing.
Which Grocery Stores Offer the Best Prices?
Our ratings of stores in seven metro areas report how each stacks up for price and quality. To compare prices, our researchers used a 150+ item list of common items to shop area options. To evaluate stores on quality of products and service, we surveyed area consumers.
Grocery Delivery: Pros, Cons, and Costs of Having Someone Else Do Your Shopping
Getting groceries to you involves sending someone else up and down the aisles to gather your stuff and then bring it to you. This means most delivery businesses are merely transferring shopping labor from you to others—and someone pays for that.
How Much Will You Save on Groceries by Joining a Warehouse Club?
For some of your food shopping, membership warehouse clubs offer low-cost alternatives to supermarkets. Using our market basket of 150+ grocery items, we surveyed prices in seven metro areas for BJ’s, Costco, and Sam’s Club and compared them to Walmart, Target, and traditional supermarkets.
