I have never had a toaster where you put the toast in the top, and this one is awesome!  It toasts so fast and evenly and comes out perfect every time.  It could not be easier to use.  It has a shade selector dial so that you can choose your perfect toast level and it also has an extra lift so that you can easily remove toasted foods once they are done.  I love that it is wide enough for bagels and that it even has a bagel button so that it will only toast the sliced side (warms the other side).  This also has a button for frozen items so you don't need to defrost first which eliminates a step and saves even more time.  This does the job perfectly every time.  I highly recommend this toaster!!