Just went thru this in November, and did a lot of research and shopping. Nobody makes a top-loader that is of much quality any more so for a few hundred dollars more it makes sense to get a decent front loader for the energy savings. Samsungs seem to have some troubles as do Whirlpools and GEs. I learned that Maytag is now owned by Whirlpool and has had lots of problems over the last decade, so their past reputation for quality is no more. Sad. Surprisingly Bosch also seems to be troublesome. Good reports abound on LGs and that's what I bought. Best decision I ever made. Great machines, super-quiet, stainless drum, very water-stingy, overall works very well. If you want the pedestals and designer colors you can spend $2K on a pair, but mine are white and are high enough not to need the pedestals and I paid just about $1K plus taxes for the ones I found on sale. Buy the LG, you won't be sorry.
BTW, some Kenmores are made by LG, some not. Their feature sets may be different and recent disappointments at Sears led me elsewhere. YMMV.