I prefer to buy a vacuum that isn’t bagless ( I find they’re so messy to empty and the filter fills up very quickly) and definitely not a canister vacuum (which we have now).
The only other things are….. the noise level is also a moderate concern (my bagless vacuum I had before was SO loud). And also I need to find one maybe through sears.ca or somewhere else that will ship to Canada without an atsronomical fee.
We do have two cats so we have a lot of pet hair to clean up but I don’t use the vacuum on hard surfaces.
Dyson makes a vacuum that is good to get animal hair up. kind of pricey, but works great. very easy to empty the canister, comes virtually apart so that you can clean the whole vacuum.
the number one rated vacuum by a few rating services is actually from sears. its one of their kenmore elites. not sure which one, but since you are close to a sears, i would start there.
There is no one best make/model of vacuum. It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Do you have allergies and need a hepa filter? Do you have both hard surfaces and carpet you need to vacuum? Do you have lots of pet hair?
I have a Dyson because I have tons of dog hair. Kirby is a good brand. They clean really well and have a Hepa filter. Miele vacuums are also really great but pricey and have the Hepa filters.
get a dyson! even though they are bagless & a little pricey, they are well worth it!