If you are looking for mattress ratings from a credible source, such as Consumer Reports, there's good news and bad news.
The Bad News
Consumer Reports does not rate mattresses. There are a couple of reasons for this, they say. First, their testers disagree on which mattresses are most comfortable. As a result, Consumer Reports says that mattress choice is largely a matter of personal preference.
Second, Consumer Reports says that model names from the top mattress brands differ from store to store. As a result, they say it is impossible to compare models. In addition, they say that even for mattresses that are similar, there are differences in important characteristics that can affect comfort, such as quilting, padding, springs, etc.
Consumer Reports, however, does offer some sound general advice on mattress shopping, such as the importance of lying on different beds to see which one you personally prefer. But in regard to which mattress is best, they will not be of much, if any, help.
The Good News
Is it futile, then, to search for which mattresses may be best? Probably not -- if you know where to look. A terrific source of mattress information can be found on hundreds, if not thousands, of online message boards that are scattered across the web.
People often use these message boards to ask others which mattresses they think are best. People then reply, often giving advice based on their own mattress ownership experience. The responses tend to be very informative, credible and free of "guerilla marketers" -- people within the mattress industry who provide bogus online mattress reviews to sway consumer opinion one way or the other.
By the way, you don't necessarily have to post a mattress question yourself on a message board. You can simply search the web for existing message board threads about mattresses or a particular mattress type or brand you are interested in.
And while you may not find out which mattresses are best on a model level, you will get a good sense of which is best on a brand level, and that can be very valuable information.
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