All of the uprights and canisters we ve tested recently do at least a good job overall. Hand vacs overall do a better job of cleaning along wall edges than stick vacs, coming closer to the moldings and angling into nooks and crannies better. You can also safely ignore claims about amps and suction. Amps are a measure of running current, not cleaning power. Configuration of the bristles on the rotating brush counts, too.
Suction power does have a major bearing on attachment efficiency.
Uprights and canisters both do a good job. Unfortunately, you probably can t find all you need in one machine. Vacuum cleaners, whose use entails encounters with potentially damaging objects, tend to have higher repair rates than most other products we survey. Canisters and uprights have been equally trouble-prone. Among vacuum cleaners purchased over the past five years, brand repair rates have averaged about 16 percent.