Move Over, Consumer Reports. The Consumers Are Talking.

I've been a Consumer Reports fan for years, but lately it has let me down on some items. For instance, when I was researching toaster ovens, I found that some of the top-rated models in Consumer Reports were hated by reviewers on Amazon.com. The reverse recently happened when I purchased my surround sound system; Consumer Reports has the Sony HT-DDW900 rated dead last in its review of 14 Home Theater In-A-Box systems. But the consumers at Amazon and Circuit City think it's great, as do the few consumers who posted reviews on cnet.com and epinions.com. (By the way, that system can be found at WalMart (in-store) for $198; don't get stuck spending $250 or $300 elsewhere.)

Now I'm in the market for new tires for my car. The set I currently own was highly rated in Consumer Reports not long ago, but I've gotten only 40,000 miles out of them instead of the rated 65,000 miles. So I did consult Consumer Reports again this time around, but my growing distrust of CR drove me to look for consumer reviews. Thankfully, I found TireRack.com. I had heard of it before, but I didn't know how useful the site was. Try it out for yourself the next time you're looking for tires; it's the first (and maybe last) place I'm going the next time I need to research tires.