Recomendations on a VAC

I love my Oreck... sorry to go against the obvious Dyson Love, but I've been very happy with Oreck. My father had his for 12 years and I only had to replace it after it was abused by a restaurant I worked for. I've bought a second one, it does great on rugs and hardwoods floors - has two settings, plus the free canister and car vacs make all vacuuming a cinch. So, for value and quality, I love my Oreck - though I did consider the Dyson. And for the record, I have two cats, but no carpet, just rugs.

And something else I don't think has been mentioned is whether you want a bag or bagless... but I prefer bags, having had bagless and always finding it a messy pain to empty.

The bag/bagless thing did come into consideration, but more so the filters. $25 for a new filter on the Dirt Devil that was recommended to be replaced every 6 months (in actuality, more like every 3) No bags to fool with but several broken belts @$5 a pop get a bit aggravating. I like the tidiness of bags but not the expense. The new Dyson has a washable filter, no bags, no belts. I don't like emptying a canister but the Dyson's canister has a little remote button so you can hold it over a bag and drop the bottom out. No upending the canister.
Time will be the true test I guess. We'll see how I feel about it a year from now. I will say that everyone I asked around work recommended a Dyson.
Once again I'd like to thank every one for all the help.