Choices: 1) Wood (i.e. butcher block) 2) Laminate 3) Tile 4) Stainless Steel, Copper, and Zinc 5) Concrete or Cement 6) Soapstone and Slate 7) Granite 8) Engineered Stone: 9) Solid Surface Acrylic, such as DuPont Corian or LG-Hi Macs. Marble is not generally recommended for kitchens, so I excluded it. At the end of each section, I placed a link to the information's source. In most cases, I simply condensed and/or summarized what was written on the webpage. You can always find the unedited version by following the link. I also made a "My Notes" section, when I knew something about the material. I added more sources at the end of this answer. 1) WOOD: Went out of favor when stone became less expensive in the 1980s. It's regaining popularity, in part due to improved sealers called watershed protectors. Wood's main appeal is its warmth. Teak will give tops a "fine furniture" look. Teak has natural water-shedding resins, and is favored by boat builders. Too dense to be used for chopping (as on a cutting board). Other classic wood choices: cherry, walnut, and mahogany. Rock Maple is the traditional wood for chopping - it's hard, but won't damage knife blades. Wood is available in several configurations. Wide planks can be glued together to give a tabletop look. Problem w/ wider boards - they tend to move and warp more than narrower ones do. That's why many countertops are butcher-block style -- lots of narrow strips glued together in a more stable pattern. End-grain butcher block means even less movement. Made from hundreds of small wood squares laminated together. http://www.taunton.com/inspiredhouse/pages/ih00001_02.asp 2) LAMINATE: Least expensive option, which means money saved on materials cost can go toward upgrades on cabinets or appliances. Laminate is made by binding layers of printed paper and resin under high pressure to create a rigid sheet that can be cut, shaped, and glued onto medium-density fiberboard. Both Formica and Wilsonart offer styles that mimic natural stone, metal, and wood. Higher-end laminates like Formica's ColorCore are melamine based. Retains surface color throughout the sheet, which makes nicks and scratches less visible. That eliminates the brown edge where two sheets meet at an angle, especially where the countertop sheet meets the edge strip. http://www.taunton.com/inspiredhouse/pages/ih00001_08.asp My note: Laminate has been around a long time, the color selection is excellent, and it can burn. It's stain resistant. Since the material is so thin, repairs are almost impossible, but overall, a good choice for a limited budget. 3) TILE: Because tile itself is infinitely varied, tile counters can adapt to any kitchen style -- from high-tech (factory-made porcelain tiles) to French provincial (hand-painted terra-cotta). Even inexpensive mass-produced tiles can be combined in whimsical, original patterns that reflect your taste. Tile is also one of the few counter choices that a handy homeowner can install easily. (Setting tile requires time and attention to detail, but it's not particularly difficult.) Impervious to heat. Can scratch. It's essential to use glazed tiles for countertops - they won't stain, but the grout will, unless periodically sealed with a grout sealer. Tile is hard and unforgiving on china and glassware. Handmade tiles can make for an uneven surface, but the charm might outweigh the occasional wobbly wine glass. Or consider combining a tile backsplash with some other countertop material. http://www.taunton.com/inspiredhouse/pages/ih00001_06.asp My note: Difficult to scratch, but probably depends on the individual tile. Lots of sizes, colors and styles. A tile-tear out is a job from hell; our fabricators/installers hate it. If you decide to remodel, this would add time and expense to the project. If the tiles crack, an infrequent, but no means unheard of event, you can either live with it, or get ready for a messy, and possibly difficult, repair. The major sore point on tile, which I've heard a thousand times, is the grout. I've had a tile countertop and was pleased with its durability and look. Mine was off-white, but it never showed stains, not even red wine. Tile is unaffected by heat. 4) STAINLESS STEEL, COPPER, ZINC: Been around much longer than their high-tech image suggests. Early 19th century rural kitchen tabletops and so-called dry sinks (drains, but no running water) were often made of copper or zinc. Heat proof, hygienic, with a "clean" look. Almost all can be made with a built-in metal sink. Stainless steel can look cold. Should be at least 1/20 inch thick, to prevent dents and buckling. 1/16 inch even better. 4A) Stainless Steel - Alloy of iron, chromium, and nickel. Industrial standard for tough, clean counters. Required in most commercial kitchens. Can scratch, but most marks are unnoticeable, especially if you order a random-grain finish. A brushed finish is smoother, but shows more fingerprints. Best kitchen-grade stainless is labeled No. 304, also known as government grade. 4B) Copper - Warmest metal counter surface. Softest, too. Not scratch resistant. Fans like the way it turns a rich, golden brown with age. Impractical to keep copper highly polished, so best maintenance is periodic coat of butcher's wax or beeswax. 4C) Zinc - Starts out as shiny as stainless steel, then gradually dulls to soft pewter-gray. Easily scratched, but everyday wear adds to patina. Wax it, like copper, for a deep luster. http://www.taunton.com/inspiredhouse/pages/ih00001_09.asp My note: Stainless steel looks clean, but industrial. Make sure the color complements the colors in your kitchen. We made a top last year using dark brown Corian that had small golden flecks throughout. The client insisted on a stainless steel sink. The golden flecks clashed with the silver-colored stainless, but because the flecks were small, at first we didn't know why it looked so bad - more like awful, really. 5) CONCRETE/CEMENT - Might not seem like a luxury choice, until you see one. Made from special concrete mixed with pigments and poured into molds. The top surface is then evened out, or screeded, and troweled smooth. After the concrete hardens for several days, it becomes extremely strong, but also quite porous. Proper sealing, followed by periodic waxing, is essential to prevent staining. Concrete's appeal is the unlimited color choice: Colors can be mixed into any hue, and the counter can be as thick as you like -- although more than 4 inches would be quite heavy and could strain supporting cabinets and floors. The soft, burnished glow of its surface gets deeper over time; nonstructural hairline cracks add even more character. It's also possible to inlay shells, pebbles, and other found objects, so that your counter is unlike any other. Counter/Production, in Berkeley, Calif., has developed a product called Vetrazzo, which uses recycled glass mixed into a custom body color. The surface is then ground to create a smooth terrazzo effect. They say the resulting counter is chip and crack resistant and stronger than concrete alone. Ambitious homeowners can try making their own concrete counters using kits sold by California designer Fu-Tung Cheng. Or they can hire one of many concrete counter specialists around the country, who have turned it into a new art form http://www.taunton.com/inspiredhouse/pages/ih00001_04.asp 6) SOAPSTONE/SLATE - Soapstone and slate are much softer than granite but also less porous. Slate was formed from clay on ancient sea beds and generally has a solid gray, black, or green hue. Soapstone, which is composed primarily of the mineral talc, has a similar color but often contains light striations of quartz. Both stones scratch and chip easily, especially on the edges; the marks can be sanded out or left to add character. Combined with a sink of the same material, slate or soapstone counters can create a classic farmhouse look or a sleek, refined look. It's not generally necessary to seal these stones, but a periodic application of mineral oil will make them glow. http://www.taunton.com/inspiredhouse/pages/ih00001_03.asp 7) ENGINEERED STONE (ES) - Consists mainly of real rock -- particles called stone aggregate, more accurately, which make up more than 90 percent of its mass. Has special properties that set it apart from nature's product. ES is made by combining the aggregate with resin and pigments, in a vibro-compaction process that binds the medium permanently. Because the mix is uniform, ES has no fissures, veins, or other imperfections that can compromise the strength of natural stone, or make it hard to match seams. Your counter will match the sample exactly -- no need to travel to the stone yard and sort through slabs. Comes in dozens of colors. Know what you're buying: The toughest engineered stones, including Silestone, Cambria, and Dupont's Zodiaq line, are made from quartz. They won't scratch or stain. Others, derived from marble and other stones, are softer, and may need sealing. http://www.taunton.com/inspiredhouse/pages/ih00001_05.asp My note: The best are made up of 93% quartz and 7% man-made resin. Heavier, but not harder than granite. Doesn't need sealer. Unaffected by heat. I've seen it get scratched irreparably. ES has consistent color patterns. Your countertop will look like the samples you chose from, A word of advice - if you ever talk to a stone guy, don't liken ES to granite. ES is a man-made material, and granite, as they say, was made by God. Stone people are kind of touchy about the issue. I added more info on ES in the next paragraphs. 8) SOLID SURFACE ACRYLIC: I'm up to my ears in the stuff every day, specifically Corian and LG Hi-Macs. Kitchen and bath countertops. Engineered stone (ES) a little less frequently. Although I'm no expert, I can imitate one on a very good day. Keep in mind that while my natural bias on this subject is toward Corian, I'm not trying to sell you on anything. This is simply what I know to be true. First, Corian and Hi Macs are both non-porous, or maybe 99.9% non-porous. It's highly resistant to stains because it won't absorb anything. I tested this one day by pouring a big cup of Betadyne (iodine) on a random piece of white Corian. It sat there until the next day when I rinsed it off and -- no Betadyne, nor any hint, remained. Some other solid surface brands, like Swanstone, are porous. Second, SSA is a very forgiving material. Scratches happen, but can be sanded out with relative ease. Try that with granite. Or engineered stone, like Caesarstone. ES in general, is more difficult to scratch, but when you do - and I have seen our fabricators do it without trying, on several occasions (cringe at the $$$$ mistake) - be prepared to live with it. Unless, of course, you have it repaired by professionals. The repair is too messy and detailed to go into here, but it's a lot more work than scratch removal from Corian or any other SSA. Even then, some scratches in ES just can't be fixed. With SSA, a green scotch bright pad and elbow grease will sand out many scratches. You can use also use a finishing sander and a fine or very fine grade of sandpaper, like 9 micron or p600 and higher. Even I can sand scratches out, so anyone can do it, and do it in a reasonable amount of time. ES and granite, being so hard, take much longer to repair, if repair is possible. Corian provides a seamless, or 99% undetectable integration with an undermount sink. Seamless means when two pieces of Corian (same color, of course) are glued together, the seam is almost impossible to detect. Dupont's (Corian's manufacturer) adhesives are color-matched to the colors of Corian, so visually, it all blends together to look like one piece. Certain colors of Corian come in quarter-inch thickness, used mainly as shower walls and tub surrounds. All 50-odd colors of LG Hi Macs are available in quarter inch, useful in bathroom color coordination. The default finish on SSA is matte, or non-reflective. If you opt for a high-gloss finish, it will likely be an upgrade, and cost more. It's all sanding, sanding, and more, up to about 4000 grit, which almost feels like rubber. Darker colors show high-gloss better than light colors, and ditto for scratches. Here's a link to other information on SSA http://www.taunton.com/inspiredhouse/pages/ih00001_07.asp Additional information: I've never seen a granite/ES top with an invisible seam, but depending upon the fabricator's skill, his equipment, and the right color adhesive, the top could have very small, unobtrusive seams. IOW, they wouldn't stick out or be particular bothersome. If you like ES or granite, don't let seams be a deal-breaker. Just make sure the fabricator knows what he's doing. Granite does not come with a warranty, unless the fabricator gives you one. Corian has a ten year warranty and Hi-Macs, 15 years. Different brands of ES have different warranties. Corian has something like 120 colors from which to choose. If you start agonizing over color, you're not alone. Last summer, a lady, mid-late 70's, came in for a few hours every Wednesday morning, for about six weeks, trying to choose a color. Every week, she'd carry off a box full of samples and haul them back the next. We finally had it narrowed down to one color group. I wasn't present at the big announcement on the final choice, but apparently she didn't need my input, LOL, since what she picked was completely different than anything she'd considered. But, she was happy with the finished product and that's what counted. Sometimes color choice is overwhelming, but most people like too many choices, rather than too few. With Corian, the colors keep their integrity through the depth of the material, typically 1/2 inch. That means all Corian looks the same when half the surface is sanded off as it looks on the surface. Granite is absolutely beautiful, hard as a rock, since it is rock, and impervious to temperatures that would melt Corian in a minute. There's really not much comparison, looks-wise between granite and anything else. I have a small piece of blue granite, Blue Pearl, from Italy, and it is the prettiest thing I've ever seen, in a countertop, anyway. ES is also very attractive. If you do choose to go with granite, here are a few "head's ups": Some granite, but not all, must be sealed to prevent stains. You can probably do this yourself - it looks simple enough. I always thought it had to be resealed once a year, but just read that the new sealers only need to be applied once every two - five years. The bottom line, I guess, is that someone needs to seal some granites and do a reseal periodically, or it will stain. Engineered stone, tile, and SSA does not to be sealed. Granite is extremely hard to scratch, but I've seen it chip, and chip badly. A couple I know remodeled their entire home. (We did the bathrooms). They do a lot of entertaining and wanted a showpiece kitchen, finally deciding on some hard-to-find blue granite for the countertop and a big island. The main top was L shaped, and ran about eight feet down one wall, and six feet down the other. Did I mention it cost $25,000? Anyway, as it was being carried into the house, somehow, some way, something chipped the top. That put a long, thin,surface crack right down the middle, at the 45 degree point in the 90 degree turn where the two legs met. I saw it later and it actually hurt to look at the damage. There was nothing that could have been done, though. The installed top was absolutely stunning, but you couldn't help noticing that long crack. Granite is natural and therefore inconsistent in color, color patterns, and depth. You will want to inspect the slab that's going to be used for your top(s) and make sure you have the right to approve/refuse the specific slab. This is a normal and expected aspect of the whole process that the industry encourages. I've never heard about a fabricator balking at the idea, but if he did, it would be a bad sign. With ES and SSA, this is a non-issue - the tops look just like the samples. Granite, being so heavy and hard, makes a more expensive countertop. There's more labor and the fabrication process can take a good bit longer than with SSA. That depends on the fabricator's skill, tools, and his schedule, of course. Good planning on your part can lessen the negative impacts there. Make sure your cabinets can support the material. You may need plywood sub decking for support, which means additional cost. For a chart that summarizes your choices, see: http://www.demesne.info/Improve-Your-Home/Kitchen-Counters.htm The only thing that's unclear in this chart is the use of linear feet in the costs. In general, SSA prices run anywhere from $50 - $80 per square foot, fabricated and installed. Linear feet goes to distance, and square feet, as you probably know, is area. I'm not sure how to convert one to the other. We never bid by linear foot, so maybe the prices wash. If you need more info on one or all of these, drop me an email at alyxxster@gmail, and I'll try to help you find it.

Laminate looks nice and shiny to begin with and scratches easily and looks horrible and old quickly. Granite is lovely but expensive and heavy. Shiny surfaces look great but polishing will take over your life forever in an effort to keep them shiny and smudge free. Stainless steel is a bugger to keep smudge proof, you have to wash it and then dry it afterwards or it looks streaky. Tiles are good but if cheap ones, then they will not be the same colour all the way through. And they do get chipped every so often. The grout between the tiles (if white) will stain easily and the groves make cleaning longer and harder. DIY store standard worktops (made with ply or chipboard, the thicker the better) with a heat proof, scratch proof (if textured)and non-slip. Stain proof and srubbable with a scouring pad etc. OK for normal regular use - they don't look crappy either. Try considering: how long will it take me to clean will it show every single mark without mercy? Do I have to clean it with special expensive cleaning products instead of the supermarket crap everyone else uses. will I become obsessed with making it as shiny as it was the day it was installed. Is it heat proof? Is it non-slip? Can I drop a can of baked beans onto it with sustaining damage? If I accidently wipe it with a scouring pad will it show - come to that, if vegetable knife slips will it leave a bad mark that can be seen from space? Will it become the nightmare maintenace problem that we all dread ending up with. How much it is it? Do I do lots of cooking.