The 8 Best Refrigerators

For a family kitchen with a standard-width opening, the Kenmore 4661342 is the sensible choice. Its 18.1 cubic feet suit a household of two or more, and Kenmore rates it for garage use. A variable-speed compressor hums along instead of kicking on and off. Two humidity drawers keep greens crisp, and the glass shelves move to fit a tall pitcher. The catch comes with every top-freezer: the produce drawers sit low, so expect to bend.

Small kitchens, studios and anyone who wants color get the most from the Frigidaire EFR786. It's a true two-door fridge with its own freezer door on top, chrome handles and rounded retro lines, in red and other shades. At 7.5 cubic feet it suits one or two people. Curtis International builds it under the Frigidaire name. The freezer needs manual defrosting, so expect to empty it and melt the ice now and then.

Made for a narrow gap where a standard fridge won't go, the Sharp SJB1255GS fits a full-height fridge into a small apartment kitchen. The freezer is a bottom drawer, so fresh food sits at eye level, and both sections defrost on their own. Sharp rates it for an unheated garage, hot or cold. A vacation setting shuts off the fridge side while the freezer keeps running. Few owners have weighed in so far, so its long-term record is still unknown.

Where a standard-width fridge won't fit, the Black+Decker BR1460HS gives you a full-height top-freezer in a slimmer body. It holds 14.6 cubic feet, defrosts itself and is certified as energy efficient. A Sabbath setting turns off lights and alarms for observant households. W Appliance Company makes it under the Black+Decker name and covers it for a year. It's new to the market with few owner reports, and the finish only looks like stainless steel.

A dorm, office or rec room needs more than a cube, and the Frigidaire EFR492 answers with 4.5 cubic feet behind one stainless-look door. Glass shelves, a door rack that takes a big soda bottle and a hinge that swaps sides let it fit most corners. The top section is a chiller, not a true freezer, so it keeps drinks icy cold but won't hold ice cream. It also needs manual defrosting now and then.

For a bedroom or dorm where noise matters, the Upstreman BR321 is a black mini fridge that Upstreman rates at 38 decibels, close to a quiet library. Inside are two glass shelves, a crisper drawer and a small freezer box. Five cold settings and a door that opens either way round it out. By the maker's own note, that freezer box runs too warm for ice cream or ice cubes, and the quiet rating is a maker claim.

The Midea WHS-65LB1 is a footstool-high cube for drinks and snacks beside a desk or bed. It carries the Energy Star mark, and Midea backs the compressor for two years. A reversible door and a removable glass shelf round it out. There's a tiny ice box but no real freezer. The temperature range Midea prints looks like a misprint, so keep a cheap fridge thermometer inside and check that it stays at 40 degrees or below.

The Whynter UDF-139SS is a tall upright that works as a freezer or, at the press of a button, as an all-fridge for drinks, produce or a second kitchen. It defrosts itself and beeps if the door stays open, and wheels let it roll into place. It's one big cold space, so it can't be fridge and freezer at once, and it isn't cheap for the room you get.