[Talus1]

My 2¢...

First, figure out what you want to do with the tool. Drilling the occasional hole and installing a few drywall screws around the house? Building and installing kitchen cabinets? Building houses or installing plumbing? Setting climbing anchors on El Capitan? That will tell you what size (voltage, capacity, etc) and general beefiness of the tool you want.

I buy a lot of tools. Kind of an addiction of mine. My wife has a Ryobi 12V screwgun that works great for little jobs around the house, weighs nothing, fits in a drawer in the kitchen and fits her hand but it doesn't have the torque to drive a 3/4" bit through a 2x4 stud. I have a 12V Li drill and impact driver set at the cottage that are great for everyday use, cabinet making, etc, but I wouldn't expect them to last too long if I were using them for rough ins all day. I also have a 20V Li drill and impact driver set that can do just about everything, but they are a bit heavy and chunky for small jobs or tight spaces. 14.4 V Li might be the sweet spot, but there aren't many around.

Incidentally, impact drivers are awesome and capable of driving fasteners much larger than the equivalent drill/driver. I.e., a 12V drill/impact driver set is much more capable than just a 12V drill alone.

As far as brand goes, I'll echo the wise and wonderful Tcoat. Many of them come out of the same factory (e.g. DeWalt owns Porter Cable) and none of them are made of materials as robust as tools were back in the day (molded plastic vs cast aluminum). That said, the top line tools used by pros are very well designed these days.

So, if you just want to be able to drill a hole to mount a picture, buy any tool that you like the feel of. If you want a "do nearly anything" tool for around the house use, get a mid-size (12-14.4V Li) drill and impact driver combo. If you build houses for a living, you're posting this question on the wrong forum.

Bet you wish you never asked...