Dear Answer Angel Ellen : How much should I believe the lists I see online and in magazines that purport to tell us “the best” of consumer items like kitchen gear and hiking boots, no-smudge mascara, wash machine, hair dryer, dog shampoo, etc.

Whom do I believe?

–BethAnn L.

Dear BethAnn : It depends who is doing the ratings. Some services rely on unbiased testing. Many others are online individuals who evaluate stuff — especially makeup and beauty products — so they get them for free. Your best approach is to do some research to find legitimate resources that are transparent about how they do their evaluations. Serious testing isn’t cheap so you might have to pay to get full access to the rankings

Consumer Reports ( consumerreports.org ) does unbiased testing on a huge range of i

See Full Page