Woodmaster, CB and Hardy sell a lot of units around here. Globel Hydronics is making some noise selling under many various names, mostly Hawken Energy as of late. I own a carbon steel Woodmaster and in my third season of no troubles, I like it. Dont expect to find a "best" when it comes to material. The horror stories on the Internet will lead you to belive that all stainless cracks and all carbon will rot out right before your eyes. If you will take the time to clean it out in the spring and keep the chemicals up to date then carbon steel works OK, If not then upgrade to stainless. That is my advise for best material. Like anything else these days there are fly by night outfits. Go with a unit that has been around a while and a local dealer if possible. When you get the stove priced out add about least 2k to get an estimated final cost.