As I read the DB/HX conversation and indeed different conversations about a myriad of topics on HB I find that I am quite unfamiliar with many of the brands of espresso machines. I dream about someday upgrading from my Rancilio setup and figure that since it is probably a ways down the road I might as well use the time in slow research.

To that end I would find it helpful to have a list of brands which are DB and another which are HX. Even better would be a list in order of quality and/or price with notations about brand-specific features.

Can someone point me to such a list or maybe we can make our own?

What Dan said.

dan got it spot on. compiling a list is only going to confuse you more, heh.

The best way, (IMO) to go about figuring all this out is to work in price brackets. There seems to be a certain level of quality in the pricing groups.

Also, figure out what YOU need. 99% of the time, DB is overkill for a home setup, and HX is more than you need.

I guess what im trying to say is work by price, not by features. There are brands that will provide the same features as other brands, but are severely marked up because of a name or hype following the name. Other than that though, most fall into reasonably predictable order based on price vs features.

Also, reiterating what Dan said- H-B's vendors seem to be the cream of the crop. I'd start with them, see who is offering what right now. This time of year usually has the best prices or packages available.