Larry & I have had our eye on a Dyson vacuum for quite a while. We finally found a really good deal on Craigslist, and bought this:

The Dyson DC17 Animal retails for about $550, but we found a brand new, never opened (although the box was torn & taped), for $400. That's still a lot more than I thought I'd ever spend on a vacuum... but I think it was worth it. We vacuumed a 10sqft area by our back door twice with our old vacuum. Then we went over it with the Dyson. The DC17 got an extra cup of dust, dirt, and hair up. Gross, huh?
Trivia: Did you know that Bo's middle name is Hoover, and Luke's middle name is Dyson? They both would go around eating every little thing off the floor, so we thought those middle names were apropos.
PS: I'm voting for Barack Obama.