Best affordable kitchen appliances?

[NFATrustGuy]

I put a set of LG appliances in my house last year. I purchased most of them through Costco. Costco didn't have the counter depth version of the refrigerator I wanted, so I ended up ordering it through Amazon. It included delivery to my kitchen. I was pretty nervous about the whole deal, but it worked out perfectly... and I'm a picky SOB when it comes to dents and scratches.

I went with the "Studio" series. It was the first time I've ever spent "big bucks" on a dishwasher and OMG was it worth it. The thing is MUCH more quieter :-) than anything I've had in the past. Unless your dishwasher is poked off in a corner of your basement, I'd say it's entirely worthwhile to spend an extra $500 and get the really good one.

EDIT TO ADD: I'd really love to have all built-in appliances, but it'd require a complete remodel of my kitchen to make it work. I was really shocked to see how expensive the Subzero, Viking, True, Miehle type of appliances are. I think a person could easily spend $80k remodeling even a moderately sized kitchen like mine. The LG appliances were a compromise--buy basically the best I could find without jumping into the custom, built-in realm.