I've been putting it off forever but I need one now. Which is the best for the money?

ECHO and Husqvarna 170 MPH $200 (Reconditioned Husqvarna 170 MPH $125 from Northern Tool)
Stihl 135 MPH $150
Poulan Pro (don't judge me) 230 PMH $165 and 200 MPH $100 on Amazon
Troy Bilt 180 MPH $110 on Amazon
I had a Homelite for about 5 years. It was a POS

Before you buy check Hitachi. Excellent machine, SEVEN YEAR warranty.

The best I’ve ever owned.

I have an Echo and no complaints

Echo.

Use their trimmer, edger, leaf blower, and chain saw.

Ryobi 40v.

I've been happy with my Husqvarna equipment (mower, blower, weed eater w/ bladed edger attachment), but I've also been impressed with my Echo chainsaw. I'd probably go Echo this time around.

I went with Stihl battery power and haven't looked back. The 12" chainsaw and hedge trimmer have come in handy as well.

The wife has a Stihl gas leaf blower. She can gas it, start it, and use it. That makes it about perfect. I rarely have to get involved. Not saying it’s the best, but the wife can run it without yelling for help. How much better could it get?

I really like my Echo. Been using one for over 20 years.

I’ve had several including Stihl. Bought a Dewalt 60V and don’t believe I’m ever going back to gas. It starts every time

Same here, keep good clean gas in them and they'll run for years.

They’re all good until you need a part and then only Stihl becomes a viable candidate on a gas machine and the rest suck.

Having said that I have a BR 800X and a BG86 at the house but since getting a Milwaukee cordless blower with a 12amp battery for Christmas I’m officially one of the freaks I swore I’d never become going cordless. I’m prepping to return my man card before spring rolls around,,

TroyBilt for the heavy work.

I’ve had a couple of gas and electric. Carb crapped out on the gas one. SpitFire didn’t like dragging the extension cord around.

About a year ago bought the Dewalt battery powered blower and chainsaw.

Spitfire loves the blower…..light and powerful. Lasts a good while on a battery.

Won’t go back to gas….2cents

If buying gas, Stihl is #1, as Ol Thumper mentioned.

Milwaukee Fuel cordless equipment continues to impress me. I've got lots of those tools and keep adding more.

They make about everything under the sun, in their lineup.

Of the ones you listed I'd go Echo. Been using them for 20 years with no problems.

I suggest looking at CFM ratings as opposed to just MPH. The amount of air coming out of the nozzle is an important piece of information when comparing.
It's like a pressure washer: You can have a very high PSI rating with a tiny volume of water coming out, vs. a lot of water at the same pressure. Which one will clean faster?

My Echo 56v cordless has been great the last 5 years.

Wait till you have to buy new batteries

I’ll probably still come out ahead. It only needs one battery.

Backpack blowers for the win! They give you a lot more control, particularly if you're a smaller person, and have much more airflow. I've had an Echo PB580T for nearly a decade and it's been a great machine. I run it semi-commercially and also use it at the ranch for a variety of chores.

When we were building my house, my bud Josh was my carpenter. He is fanatical about cleaning the job site. At least at the end of the day, sometimes in the middle of the day as well as at the end of the day. I grabbed my hand held Stihl. He walks up wearing his backpack blower. I said I don't have one of those. He looked at me like I had two heads, and said "What? You don't? Get you one, it will change your life."

I got an old Echo backpack blower from my dad, so much better than a hand held.

I have a gas Echo, used hard for at least 15 years. A few tune up kits/ primer bulbs over the years, but it just wont die.