[CRussel]

Welcome to MobileRead, buttbott. This thread will likely get moved over to the Which One Should I Buy forum, where it belongs, but as desertgrandma says, you'll get as many opinions as there are eReaders, since they're all represented here.

The first decision point is what country are you in? If the US, then pretty much all the options will work and move to the next decision point. If outside the US, I would strongly suggest not getting a Nook. B&N only supports them in the US, and only ships them to US addresses.

The next decision point is touch or keyboard? Personally, I prefer keyboards, but others are strong proponents of touch. And if touch, with or without page turn buttons? Again, if I got a touch, it would absolutely have page turn buttons, but others might not be so concerned. (I currently have a Kindle Keyboard and a Kindle Fire. The Fire is touch only, and I can't say I like that as an option. )

Next, what is your current source of books? Do you buy from a wide variety of stores, or one store primarily. If one store primarily, then look at which one they support/work with and go with that.

Another question to ask is do you need to be able to travel with your eReader and buy books while travelling? If so, then one with a 3G option is probably a good investment. If you are happy with being restricted to WiFi, then pretty much all of them now support that. And you'll also be able to "sideload" to your reader using a USB cable to your computer.

If you're near a Best Buy or Target or other store that has several in stock, go look at them, and get a feel for them. That can help make your decision easier. Almost any brand can be made to work with almost any content, by shifting the format of the content. This isn't particularly hard, though it may require removing the DRM (Digital Rights Management, a way to prevent you from having access to what you bought) first. Again, not hard, but a topic for another thread.

The buying experience for Kindle is generally considered the absolute best. Completely transparent and automatic. The standard that others strive for, and sometimes achieve. Buying from a non-Amazon store might require using your computer. And might require format shifting. But buying from Amazon for any other reader might also require format shifting. And other readers are even more restrictive about where you can buy from while using the reader to do the buying.

Finally, the question of what will happen if there's a problem with your eReader and you need customer service. Here, Amazon is head and shoulders above ANY one else. They have been simply amazing, and there are innumerable stories reported here to support that.

Personally? I buy Kindles, and buy them for my friends' kids when they earn them. And no complaints at all.