Black & Decker BL-3900 5-Speed Blender

Pros: Easy to use, heavy duty construction and stylish to boot!
Cons: None so far

After pretty much giving up on owning a blender - well, at least one that didn't burn out while you were making a shake or smoothie - a friend of mine brought over her blender to use. We were having a party and we wanted to make some mixed drinks and she ...

Pros: Good for light blending. Probably one of the best light duty blenders.
Cons: Like all blenders sold in department stores it's just for light to medium use.

Motor burned out after 3 years. Rotor attachment to container sheared off early-on too (I repaired this with a Frankenstein solution, although I doubt many people could repair that).

We didn't use it often, but when we did use it we used it for making whole wheat pancakes which requires aggressive blending.

If you'll use your blender for much more than light blending (example - smoothies) then you should get at least 1 HP (750 Watts) or higher - preferably. You won't find them in most department stores. Look online. You can get 1000W blenders for under $100 if you search around, but it's worth it. You don't need 3HP (2250W) blenders - ever. That's just plain ridiculous.