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Saturday, January 28th
LG appliances are everywhere. The company is well known for offering the most advanced technology at affordable prices, and that's definitely true with their kitchen appliances.
Small microwave, big reputation
LG microwaves give you quite a bit for your money. For under $175, you could get a 0.9 cu.ft. model perfect for the home or office: the NeoChef Countertop unit has an easy clean interior with an extra-stable turntable and bright LED lighting. And, out of over 1000 buyer ratings, this microwave oven has an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Top-of-the-line features - under $1,000
At the opposite end of the price spectrum, LG sells the Studio 1.7 cu.ft. over-the-range convection microwave oven with air fry. With an MSRP of just $899, this appliance has all of the features you would pay two or even three times as much to get from another brand. It even has a two-year warranty on parts and labor. This model was too new at the time of this review to have any customer ratings, but the comparable LG models without the air fry system averaged about 4.3 out of 5 stars as a reference point.
BBB rating on the decline
LG's reputation with the Better Business Bureau isn't fantastic. Previously, the BBB had listed the company as "Not Rated" while they evaluated how customer complaints were being handled. Apparently, the results are in - and they're not great. When we looked most recently, LG had been given a "C-" rating with over 2100 complaints filed there in the last year alone. It's worth noting that the vast majority of those are regarding malfunctioning refrigerators and not microwaves, but that low rating indicates that the BBB doesn't think LG is handling issues well in general.
Might be just fine for microwave ovens
Should that deter you from buying an LG microwave if you find one you love? Not necessarily: among the 20+ appliances we saw, almost all of them had a customer rating average over four stars. Plus, with LG's affordable price points on microwave ovens, you could theoretically buy a replacement when it fails and still spend less on two of them than you would have paid on a single more expensive appliance from another brand. We suggest shopping around for a bit and circling back to LG for a comparison, then deciding if that BBB rating is worth worrying about.
For most of us, it's hard to imagine a kitchen without a microwave. Who heats up water for cocoa on the stove or reheats an entire meal in the oven anymore? A novelty in most homes in the 1980s, these appliances have become so common that it takes you aback when you don't see one in the kitchen - or even at the office.
Microwave oven styles have come a long way from the bulky countertop appliances of the past. Yes, you can still get models like that - after all, a dorm room isn't going to have a place to install a microwave - but the majority of kitchens now include a ready-made space under the cabinets or over the range just for a microwave. Today's more modern homes may incorporate microwave ovens as built-ins that match the oven and the refrigerator with pull-down doors, or even as a pull-out drawer in a kitchen island.
While some people have held onto concerns that microwave ovens might be unsafe because of the way they cook food, those fears are unfounded. Manufacturers go to great lengths to make sure that the biggest risk of using a microwave oven is when people eat their food before it cools off a bit (we've all done that breathy-mouth-thing when we just couldn't wait for that delicious snack to be ready - and regretted it for days afterwards).
Not only have microwave designs expanded, but their capabilities have grown too. Convection for faster cooking, air fryer functions, and voice controls are just a few features that may "wow" you, especially if you're replacing a trusty old model that finally gave up the ghost after a decade or more of faithful food-cooking service in your home.
With so many options, where do you start? Walk yourself through this checklist as you figure out which microwave oven and brand are right for you:
TopConsumerReviews.com has evaluated and ranked the most popular brands of microwave ovens on the market today. We hope this information helps you choose the right model for your kitchen!
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