Saving up for a new screen? To help you navigate the dozens of seemingly identical TV models from Samsung, LG, Vizio, TCL, Sony, and other manufacturers, we’ve watched hundreds of hours of content on them and picked a few of our favorites. We’ve listed everything from the best budget TV to the absolute best set you can buy—and a few excellent choices in between.

We also believe you should invest in a good soundbar and TV streaming stick. TVs now come with wonderful displays, but they’re terrible at sound and running apps. Be sure to check out our many other buying guides.

Unless labeled otherwise, every TV we link to is 55 inches. There are often larger and smaller sizes available on the retailer’s site, but this is a very good size for most living rooms. All of these models have a 4K Ultra HD pixel resolution (and some have 8K), because there aren’t a lot of good reasons to buy a standard HDTV anymore, or many for sale.

Updated June 2021: The latest models are just starting to trickle onto the market, and we’ve seen mild price fluctuations due to the international chip shortage. We’ve updated the links and prices and will add new models as soon as we’re done testing. There isn’t a huge reason to wait for new models. The picks on this list are still worth buying.

Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you’d like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

5 Years After the Oculus Rift, Where Do VR and AR Go Next?

Atman Binstock was working late one night in the summer of 2015…

I found a WhatsApp trick to unsend OLD texts – even ones I sent over an hour ago

IF you’ve ever sent a risky WhatsApp message and wanted to delete…

Hollywood’s Screenwriters Are Right to Fear AI

There’s a long history of management painting automation as something as inevitable…

Step Away From Screens With the 16 Best Family Board Games

It’s good to take a break from screens every now and then.…