Here is the article from Consumer reports.com. They list Calphalon as the best.
Consumer Reports
Picks of the pots and pans
The cost of cookware doesn't have to leave you fried. We found a very good 10-piece set for $125.
Butter burns more quickly than margarine, skim milk won't whip, and a watched pot boils faster when covered. Some cooks are just as sure that with pots and pans, you get what you pay for. No wonder high-end products flourish. In some stores, it's possible to pay $180 for just one medium-sized saucepan.
Yet our tests of top-selling cookware sets--15 nonstick and 10 uncoated--show you don’t have to pay caviar prices for even heating, comfortable handles, easy cleaning, and durability. Although our top-rated set, the 10-piece Calphalon Commercial Nonstick, costs $500, the slightly lighter-weight 8-piece Simply Calphalon Nonstick performed nearly as well and costs just $200. It is A CR Best Buy, as is the 10-piece nonstick Cook’s Essentials, $125, shown above.
All the sets we tested are made mainly of stainless steel or aluminum, both of which are durable. Stainless steel and anodized aluminum won't corrode or tarnish; regular aluminum may. Mostly 8- and 10-piece combinations of stockpots, frypans, saucepans, and lids--each lid is considered an additional "piece"--the sets we tested should be able to handle the lion's share of cooking chores. What's more, we found that the higher-rated sets offer similar performance in each piece, so you won't be buying a flimsy frypan to accompany a great stockpot.
THE CHOICES
Nonstick. Most Americans opt for nonstick pots and pans, layered with strong and slippery polymer-based coatings. Those require less fat when you cook and less elbow grease when you clean. However, nonsticks require care. Manufacturers recommend against using nonstick cookware over high heat, which could affect the coating. We recommend using nonmetal utensils (to prevent scratches), even if the manufacturer says it's OK to use metal. Dishwasher cleaning is forbidden with some brands. Over time, using cooking sprays on nonsticks can create a sticky, varnishlike surface that's impossible to clean. "The best solution is not to use these sprays," says John Badner, marketing vice-president for Whitford Worldwide, a major supplier of nonstick coatings. Instead, use butter, margarine, or nothing at all. After cooking, wash pans gently with hot soapy water and a sponge or nonabrasive pad.
Uncoated. This is the choice if you'd rather use metal utensils or if you want a little food to stick--perhaps so you can deglaze the pan with stock or wine to make a sauce. Uncoated pans also tend to be good for browning. Three uncoated sets we tested include a nonstick frypan.
Sets vs. individual pieces. Sets are the better deal. Purchased individually, the 10 pieces of Calphalon Commercial Nonstick cost $635 when we checked last fall, instead of $500. Still, with sets, you have to take what you get. Sets generally have five pieces in common: a stockpot with lid, a 2- to 3-quart saucepan with lid, and a 9.5- to 11-inch frypan. Most have at least one or two other components--a small omelette pan or another saucepan and lid.
The Recommendations & Notes in the Ratings list components in each set beyond the basics. Most sets also have open stock, so you can add pieces as needed.
FEATURES TO LOOK FOR
Balanced handles that stay cool. Good cookware includes a well-balanced handle that's comfortable to grip and won't become hot enough to require a potholder. Handles come in metal, plastic, and occasionally wood, a material we wouldn't recommend. Metal handles can get hot but go from stovetop to oven or broiler without damage. Lightweight plastic handles won't get as hot, but even the most advanced plastic can't go into an oven hotter than about 350˚ F. Riveted handles can be particularly strong, but rivets can collect grime that's tough to remove.
Spouts, useful lids. Glass lids are cheap to make but aren't useful once steam builds up, and they can break. Lids on a few brands have holes to let steam escape. The uncoated Wearever Easy Pour and Strain includes a strainer lid and shallow pouring spouts on some pieces.
Dishwasher compatibility. Uncoated cookware is dishwasher-safe, and manufacturers of several nonstick brands--though not the top three in our Ratings--say their cookware is, too. Follow washing instructions carefully.
Flat bottoms. Pots that aren't flat on the bottom won't heat well on a smoothtop range. All of the sets we tested appear to be flat. Even so, a pot's construction can affect heating speed. When we used a smoothtop to boil four quarts of water in stockpots, the Nordic Ware Rangeware Pro took only 9 minutes; the Bialetti Hi-Base Stainless Steel, 18 minutes. No pots caused damage to smoothtops when we moved them around.
Easy lifting. People who have trouble hoisting pots and pans may want to avoid the heavier cookware, which we've cited in the Recommendations & Notes in the Ratings. However, if you have a professional-style (high-Btu) gas stove, heavy cookware is best.
THE MARKET
About one in five Americans buy cookware sets at Wal-Mart, where we've found low prices and a presentation that makes for easy shopping. Television shopping networks account for about 1 in 10 sets purchased. In large part, that's because of celebrity-endorsed products such as the Wolfgang Puck Bistro Collection, sold by Home Shopping Network.
Online cookware sales are also on the rise, up from nearly zero five years ago to about 3 percent in 2001, according to Market Facts IMR, a marketing-research firm. But the apparent plethora of cookware sites can be a mirage: When shopping for Calphalon merchandise at 15 sites, clicking on "buy now" or "shopping cart" sent us to
www.amazon.com.
According to Hugh Rushing, executive vice president of the Cookware Manufacturers Association, discounts for midpriced cookware are most likely to be found at mass-market stores such as Target and Wal-Mart and at discounters such as Marshall's and T.J. Maxx.
Some retailers contract with major manufacturers to create exclusive lines. Often those products are made of the same materials but have differences in design or finish: variations in handle design, different colors, glass lids instead of metal. Cookware that is basically the same may be sold under different names at different stores. Calphalon tells us, for example, that the 10-piece Simply Calphalon at Macy's performs similarly to Target's Kitchen Essentials and Kohl's Cooking with Calphalon. Earlier this fall, all three sets cost $200 online.
WHAT WE TESTED, WHAT WE FOUND
We tested three components in each set--frypans, saucepans, and stockpots. The best pots and pans heated evenly, were safe and comfortable to use, and were built to last. Those toward the bottom of the Ratings cooked unevenly and were less likely to hold a simmer without burning or splattering. Here, the details:
Tall or stout Their design and capacity differ, but stockpots from Tools of the Trade (left) and Calphalon Commercial (right) both heated very evenly.
Even heating. Nearly all frypans evenly cooked pan-sized pancakes on a gas range. Only the Nordic Ware Rangeware Pro burned the center and left the edge raw.
Simmering. When we used very low heat to simmer a thick tomato sauce in stockpots, the Farberware Millennium Satin Enamel Nonstick, T-Fal 4U, Nordic Ware Rangeware Pro, and Revere Copper Cuisine let the sauce boil. When we let delicate béchamel sauce simmer in the saucepans for 30 minutes without stirring, most saucepans coped well, but the T-Fal 4U Nonstick burned it.
Cleanup. Removing baked-on béchamel was hardest with three uncoated sets--Magnalite Classic, Bialetti Hi-Base Stainless Steel, and Revere Copper Cuisine. Only steel wool salvaged the Revere.
Handle safety, comfort. Nearly all frypans passed our tough tests, which means their handles are unlikely to bend or fall off over time. Only the handle on the Bialetti gradually loosened. The Recommendations & Notes in the Ratings list sets with comfortable, well-balanced handles and those with handles that got especially hot.
Nonstick abilities. In all the nonstick frypans, we were able to fry four eggs in succession and then cleanly release them, having used only a wipe of oil before the first egg. If you use wood or plastic tools, as most makers recommend, any of the pans should last for years. But since we suspect that a cook with even the best intentions uses metal once in a while, we subjected the pans to a very tough test, heating them and rubbing their insides with steel-wool pads until the coating wore through or we reached 2,000 strokes. First to lose its coating was the Regal Easy Clean. The good news is that most pans kept their coating and were still able to release fried eggs fairly easily.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It pays to start with a set and supplement it with other pieces, depending on how you cook. Long-cooked stews, for example, may call for heat-retaining cast iron.
Nonstick sets. The Calphalon Commercial Nonstick, $500 for 10 pieces, is great for a demanding cook who's willing to pay a premium. The set did everything well, and has companion pieces you can add as needed. However, it's heavy. Simply Calphalon Nonstick, $200 for 8 pieces, and Cook's Essentials, $125 for 10 pieces, weigh less and are better choices for cooks on a budget. Of the three, only Cook's Essentials claims to be dishwasher-safe.
Uncoated sets. Best of this type was the Wolfgang Puck Bistro Collection. It has 20 pieces (including a 6-piece tool set and a nonstick frypan) and costs $150. It's oven-safe up to 425˚ F. Other very good sets include the Farberware, $250 for 10 pieces, Tools of the Trade, $250 for 12 pieces, and Magnalite, $115 for 8 pieces.
[ 04-30-2003, 05:03 PM: Message edited by: firedog ]
Cookware help
Didn't take long. :tongue: [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] 
AuntyM
...kinda scratched the nonstick. The cookware has glass lids, which I like (can see the food without lifting them). Kitchen Kaboodle or Linens and Things or similar stores have cookware kinda like it. I just hope the chipped nonstick won't harm me. 
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