Orthogonal to shoes and such, I find that I end up searching for recommendations for products on reddit as opposed to a store or review engine. I prefer to know what enthusiasts think rather than a bunch of randoms who have voted based on a star system.
Are there are sites that just list products and have only a single recommendation for each category? "This is _the_ boot to buy if you are looking for cold weather boots. It's a good combination of warm, waterproof and stylish." That's basically what I was after and exactly what reddit delivered after some searching through relevant subreddits.
Both of these sites are so popular that their recommendations are usually the top seller in their respective Amazon categories.
Thanks for the recommendation. This looks great.
I can vouch for Wirecutter's audio equipment reviews in particular. I am a bit of an audio enthusiast, and they do quite well in this area. Their reviewers are well respected in the industry and they are, well, the total opposite of reviewers who recommend snake-oil crap like expensive speaker cables.
If you really want the full dress boot option and are prepared to spend a lot, there's always RM Williams[2] of course. However, I've heard reports their quality has suffered in recent years. I have three pairs of Yearling Craftsman boots now between 15-25 years old. They've all been re-soled multiple times and the older ones are looking a bit worse for wear, but I've certainly had my money's worth out of them.
[0] http://baxterfootwear.com.au