“Top 10” and "Best of..." lists abound at this time of year, and we have our own to share. The difference is, our list doesn’t just feature our personal favorites, based on subjective opinions.
Our top electronics products of 2014 showcases the standouts that performed best in our labs, where we put hundreds of products of all kinds through rigorous, expert, in-depth testing.
We combed our Ratings in 10 key categories and selected those with the highest overall scores.
They may not be the biggest names or have the jazziest designs, but they share one important attribute: they’re the best of the best from our tests.
(Products are listed by category, not in rank order. Prices have probably changed since we gathered this information.)
It’s been a banner year for smart phones, with bigger, better, smarter models raising the bar to new heights. Given the number of compelling new arrivals, we have to declare a three-way tie.
The Samsung Galaxy S 5, the LG G3, and the Apple iPhone 6 all aced our tests and rose to the top of our Ratings, thanks in part to large, excellent displays, very good cameras, and an array of useful features. Each has attributes that might appeal to different users.
The Galaxy S 5, for example, can survive a 30-minute dunk in about 3 feet of water and laugh off wind-swept debris.
Both the Samsung and the LG G3 can run multiple apps on one screen and have a first-rate virtual keyboard with five rows, a rarity. The LG also has a supersharp display.
The Apple iPhone 6 boasts a larger display than its predecessors and is a great choice if you’re invested in Apple’s content ecosystem.
There’s no shortage of top televisions on the market, but the 65-inch Sony Bravia XBR-65X900B and its 55-inch sibling, the XBR-55X900B ($2,800), deserve special recognition.
These LED/LCD models were the only TVs we tested this year that earned excellent scores for both picture and sound quality (notice the speakers flanking the screen), pushing them to the top of our Ratings.
Both make the most of their ultra HD resolution, delivering super-fine detail, and they feature Sony’s smart TV platform, offering access to lots of online content.
Among regular HD sets (still a smart choice for many consumers), top-scoring standouts this year include the LG 55EC9300 (55 inches, $3,500), which demonstrates the superb black levels, contrast, and unlimited viewing angle of OLED technology; the Samsung UN60HU8500 ($2,680); and LG 65UB9500 ($2,700).
Of the dozens of tablets that went through our test labs this year, top honors went to an Apple iOS device and two Android tablets.
The Apple iPad is a perennial favorite, and the super-slim iPad Air 2 is no exception. It has all the pluses of its predecessors, plus an outstanding 9.7-inch display that’s more viewable in bright light than any we’ve seen before, thanks to its antireflective coating.
This advanced point-and-shoot digital camera stands out as one of the best cameras of the year. Featuring 13-megapixel resolution and 5x zoom, it earned the highest score for any camera of any type in our Ratings.
It takes excellent still photos and video and offers a nice complement of features, including a great swiveling touch-screen LCD and wireless connectivity.
Smaller, lower-priced models that ranked at the top of their categories include the rugged Olympus Stylus TG-3 ($350), which is waterproof to a depth of 50 feet, and the Nikon Coolpix S9700 ($270), a slim, wireless superzoom with a long 30x optical zoom lens.
Thanks to a winning combination of performance, content, and affordable prices, Roku’s growing family of streaming video players is a hit with consumers—deservedly so, because Roku players have been strong performers in our tests.
In fact, the Roku 3 earned a spot at the top of our Ratings. It has a fast processor that makes it noticeably more responsive than most other players, a plus when navigating menus and loading apps.
A unique feature: The remote control has a headphone jack that automatically shuts off the sound to a TV or A/V receiver, so you can listen privately when others are in the same room.
The highest-scoring laptop in our tests this year was this 13-inch Samsung, a Windows-based laptop that marries excellent performance with a stylish, comfortable design. It’s thin and light, just 3.1 pounds.
The high-resolution 3200 x 1800 screen is especially great for photographers and videographers, and the computer has enough speed and power for video editing and gaming. The touchscreen and speedy 128GB solid-state drive are nice pluses.
In the growing category of computers that double as tablets, the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 won the top spot.
It has a beautiful, high-resolution 12-inch touchscreen display and offers excellent performance, a kickstand that adjusts to almost any angle, and 10-hour battery life.
With the keyboard attached, it weighs 2.4 pounds, which is light for a laptop this size. Remove the keyboard and it becomes a 1.8-pound tablet—admittedly heavy for a tablet, but the display is larger than the typical tablet's.
Convertible laptops, which have keyboards that fold back to allow for tablet-like functionality, are also smart choices for those seeking versatility. In that group, the top scorer was the Dell XPS 12 Convertible Touch Ultrabook (4th Gen i5), $1,100.
This HP all-in-one brings excellence to your desktop.
This top-scoring computer has a very good 23-inch touchscreen display that’s big enough for enjoying movies, and it comes with a wireless mouse and keyboard that eliminate cord clutter.
You can use the included Dragon Assistant for voice commands.
The 1TB hybrid drive offers speedy performance plus tons of room for storing your content.
The name GoPro may leap to mind when you hear the words “action cam,” but this Sony actually edged out its well-known rivals in our tests.
It's the only action cam we've recently tested that captures both very good quality video and good quality still photos, at least partly due to its image stabilizer, which takes some of the jitter out of video and enhances the sharpness of photos.
It’s splash-proof, and if you add a waterproof housing, you can submerge it to a depth of 16 feet. Built-in Wi-Fi and one-touch NFC pairing to compatible smart phones makes for easy sharing of your shots.
These headphones might not be the flashiest we’ve tested this year—there are plenty of contenders for that honor—but they are quite simply the best, and by a wide margin.
Sound quality, the single most important attribute of headphones, is excellent. These retro-looking headphones are over-ear models with black ear surrounds and a real leather headband, not tiny lightweights you can stuff into the pocket of your skinny jeans.
If you need active noise cancelation, our top recommendation is the Beats by dre Beats Executive, $300, which delivers excellent sound. It’s also an over-ear model with a home/studio design.
For lightweight ‘phones to use on the go, our top picks are the Bose QuietComfort 20i noise-canceling ear-insert earphones ($300).
