General Electric
GE has been making kitchen appliances for almost as long as there has been electricity for the consumer. GE markets models that range from low- to higher-end, and cover both electric and gas stoves. Their stoves are found in most general appliance and home stores, and are found in millions of homes. Solidly middle-class, the GE brand name gives consumers the assurance they are buying a quality product at a fair price.
Sears and Kenmore
Sears markets its own Kenmore brand of stoves and kitchen appliances through its nationwide department store chain. Like GE, Sears appeals to the middle-class with a solid line of stoves. Unlike the other brand names, though, Sears does not actually manufacture the stove but contracts them out to other appliance manufacturers and merely puts their own brand name plate on them. Whirlpool, Tappan, Jenn-Air and Amana are just some of the companies that make Sears appliances, including stoves.
Jenn-Air
Jenn-Air markets itself as the brand name for luxury kitchen appliances. Their kitchen stoves are modeled after professional restaurant stoves and have similar features. They also offer range and cook tops that can be built into kitchen islands without having an oven under them. If a homeowner chooses that option then they can also purchase a Jenn-Air stand alone wall-mounted oven. Jenn-Air is sold though home stores as the store's high-end brand, and is also available at many specialty kitchen appliance stores.
Elmira Stove Works
Buying an Elmira Stove Works (ESW) stove is like taking a trip back into time -- even as far back as wood-burning stoves that were the height of fashion in the late 1800s. ESW specializes in retro-looking stoves that are fully functional for today's homes. In this case, old is expensive since models start at $5,395 as of the date of publication in August, 2011. The "new" kitchen stove looks as if it stepped out of a kitchen from the 1940s. Buying one of these wood stoves will give your home a different look from your neighbors, and learning how to cook with it will give a feeling of kinship with your great-great grandmother.