The Best Canned Negroni, Margarita, and Moscow Mule

Part of the fun of a cocktail is the ritual of crafting it yourself. Arguably, though, it’s even more fun to drink a cocktail and bask in its hazy afterglow. Ready-to-drink cocktails are perfect for when you can’t or don’t want to make your own drinks. After all, summer is all about spontaneity and lightness. Being able to grab a can or bottle of a perfectly mixed beverage means you can take full advantage of those bright, sunny days with little more thought than “where’s the liquor store?” and “where’s the recycling bin?”

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The Best Ukulele for Beginners

From kids in elementary-school music programs to residents of retirement homes, people everywhere continue to take up the ukulele in record numbers. And we think the Alvarez Regent Series RU22C concert uke is the best all-around choice for the average beginner. Our panel of instructors and students loved this model’s sound and styling, and it’s the perfect size for kids and adults alike.

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A Guide to the Ultimate Soft Girl Summer Day

Savoring the first bite of a particularly juicy peach, dipping your toes in cold water on a warm day, belly laughing with friends over fizzy cocktails—“soft girl summer” is one of the latest crazes dominating social media, but it’s more than just a trending hashtag.

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The Best Waffle Maker

Fresh, fluffy waffles may seem like a treat reserved for brunches out, but a good waffle maker can easily produce restaurant-quality waffles at home.

After putting in more than 100 hours of research, talking to six experts, and testing 36 models since 2014, we recommend the Cuisinart Round Flip Belgian Waffle Maker WAF-F30. In our tests, it consistently delivered lofty, golden waffles that were crisp on the outside and tender within, in about two minutes.

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The Best Knife Set

Ask any chef what their most essential kitchen tool is, and they will undoubtedly answer: a good set of knives. The same holds true for any home cook who aims to set up an efficient kitchen.

Though you can buy knives piecemeal, investing in a quality set is a great way to easily secure all of the basics, along with a handy storage option, in one fell swoop.

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The Best Men’s White T-Shirts

A white T-shirt is a blank canvas. You can wear it solo, cover it with a sweater, or—if you’re the protagonist of a certain André Aciman novel—toss it on the dock while you go for an impromptu swim in Italy circa 1983.

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The Best Wireless and Wired Headsets

Office headsets are designed to address a specific need: They allow you to take or make calls from a computer or mobile device while hearing and being heard over the distracting noise that surrounds you.

Wireless headsets can connect to your phone and allow you to talk even when you’re dozens of feet away from your desk. Less expensive wired headsets eliminate battery-life concerns and stress over potential Bluetooth issues.

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Most Gift Baskets Are Terrible. These Are Great.

Gift baskets get a bad rap, and many deserve it for their uninspired or mismatched components: stale crackers, gritty chocolate, Red Delicious apples that are anything but. We wanted to find the standout choices, gift baskets that would be delicious, beautiful, delightful, and comforting any time of year.

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The Best Earbuds Under $50

Let’s be honest: Most earbuds priced under $50 are junk. They’re uncomfortable, cheaply constructed, and terrible sounding. But the 1More Piston Fit BT defied our assumptions about how good an inexpensive pair of Bluetooth earbuds could sound. Plus, the earbuds are comfortable and solidly built, and they coil up for easy storage. Buy them—and don’t tell 1More that it could be charging more.

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The Best Boxed Chocolates

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If you’re looking for a truly special box of luxurious chocolates to give someone, you can’t go wrong with the 16-piece Recchiuti Confections Black Box. Over the years, we’ve enlisted food experts and staffers to evaluate 36 brands of chocolate in taste tests. And we’ve found Recchiuti’s flavors, craftsmanship, and packaging to be nothing short of sophisticated—and, for the right occasion, maybe even a little seductive.

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The Best Headphones

The best headphones not only sound great but also do everything else you need, whether that means fitting in your pocket, blocking out noise on your subway commute, or remaining secure in your ears during workouts.

We’ve tested hundreds of headphones for a variety of uses and at a variety of prices. This article provides some shopping guidance, as well as an overview of all our top headphone and earbud picks, with links to the full guides.

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The Best Headphones Under $100

Not everyone can or wants to spend a lot of money on headphones, but $100 or less can get you a lot if you know where to look. We’ve reviewed hundreds of headphones under $100, including wired, wireless, over-ear, and earbuds to find the best ones for every need. This article provides an overview of all the under-$100 picks across our different headphone guides, with links to our full coverage.

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The Best E-Reader

A dedicated ebook reader puts an entire library of books in the palm of your hand, without the distractions of a phone or tablet. E-readers are smaller than a paperback, last for weeks on a single charge, and give you an excellent reading experience. After testing every competitive ebook reader available in the US, we can say that Amazon’s cheapest Kindle is the best for almost everyone.

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These 7 Wirecutter Top Picks Are on Sale Right Now

The top pick in a Wirecutter guide offers an exceptional blend of features and function that puts it head and shoulders above similar models.

Every top pick chosen by our experts is rigorously tested for real-world usability and performance, and while not every top pick is the most expensive option, quality usually comes at a cost. With the Wirecutter Deals team by your side, you'll never have to worry about paying too much or getting scammed by an untrustworthy seller. We’ve sifted through hundreds of mediocre discounts to find the real deals—giving you seven chances to save on our top picks.

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The Best Surface Cleaners and Disinfectants

After researching 33 options and spending several weeks cleaning grease splatters, grubby fingerprints, and sticky cereal milk with eight cleaning sprays, we concluded that our favorite is Biokleen Spray & Wipe All Purpose Cleaner.

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How to Stay Cool Even When You Have to Cover Up

A few years ago I was diagnosed with Lyme disease, and I was put on the antibiotic doxycycline, which caused my skin to become photosensitive—it would start turning red after just a few minutes in direct sunlight. I pictured myself wearing wide-brimmed Carmen Sandiego hats and flowing caftans to keep the sun’s rays at bay. But in reality, I sweated through a hooded anorak and jeans as I searched for more-lightweight options that would allow me to spend time outdoors without becoming burnt toast.

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The Best Over-Ear Headphones

Over-ear headphones are for people who want to totally immerse themselves in their listening or don’t like the feeling of earbuds in their ears. The larger drivers, compared with those in earbuds, generally allow over-ear pairs to produce better sound than comparably priced in-ear models.

We’ve tested hundreds of over-ear headphones, including wireless Bluetooth, traditional wired, and noise-cancelling sets. This article provides an overview of our top over-ear picks across our different headphone guides, with links to our full coverage.

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The Best Pen

If you’ve ever had a pen mysteriously wander away from your desk and then had to write with a poor substitute (the kind you might find at a bank or with some company’s phone number on it), you know how important a quality pen is.

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Ask Wirecutter: Are There Cheap Products That Are Better Than Their Pricey Counterparts?

Ask Wirecutter, an advice column written by Annemarie Conte, explores the best approaches to buying, using, and maintaining stuff. Email your biggest product-related problems to askwirecutter@wirecutter.com.

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The Best Smartwatch for Android Phones

Smartwatches let you see who’s calling, read a text, or review any of the other dozens of kinds of notifications you might get every day without pulling out your phone. The Apple Watch has set the standard for what a smartwatch can do, but it only works with Apple’s iPhones. Android users have a plethora of other wearable options, but most of them have been too heavy, slow, or poorly supported, or some combination of those, to recommend. The past few years have seen improvements, though. After researching and testing dozens of Android-compatible smartwatches, we recommend the Samsung Galaxy Watch5. It’s one of the fastest and most helpful wearables we’ve tested, with robust support for voice commands, mobile payments, and fitness tracking.

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The Best Early Back-to-School Deals for Students (That Are Great for Everyone)

We may be in the thick of summer, but it won’t be long before it’s time to trade those flip-flops and beach chairs for backpacks, new clothes, laptops, and other back-to-school essentials.

Some states have already kicked off their tax-free shopping holidays, while others are slated to start in the coming months. Our deals hunters have combed through early back-to-school sales to find the best discounts on grade-A, expert-recommended items that’ll last through the school year and beyond.

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The 5 Best Android Phones

Android phones vary widely in both price and user experience, from just a couple hundred dollars to well over $1,000, and from unbelievably frustrating to unbelievably impressive.

After spending hundreds of hours testing Android smartphones, we think the Google Pixel 7—which sits in the sweet spot of competitive pricing and great hardware—is the best Android phone for most people.

It offers outstanding software and camera performance, and it costs much less than other high-end handsets. It will receive guaranteed software updates for longer than most Android phones, too.

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The Best Android Tablets

If you’re not already invested in Android, an iPad is a better tablet in general than any current Android tablet, even for people who use Google’s apps and services. But if you absolutely need an Android tablet, either to run specific apps or because you prefer Android to iOS, the best option is the Google Pixel Tablet. For about the same price as Apple’s 10th-gen iPad, Google’s first tablet in years offers the best all-around Android tablet experience, with excellent hardware and solid performance. Google also includes a charging speaker dock, which turns the Pixel Tablet into a useful smart-home hub.

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The Best Laptops for Video and Photo Editing

Videographers and photographers on the move need a laptop that can keep up with quick deadlines and handle any task from color grading to 4K video editing. For professionals who need a laptop that doesn’t compromise on processing power, color accuracy, or battery life, the Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023) is our undisputed recommendation. But if you prefer Windows, or if you want a laptop that you can repair and upgrade in the future, the Dell XPS 15 9530 is the best option right now due to its processing power and OLED screen. And the more budget-friendly 15-inch M2 MacBook Air has a superb display for a laptop of its price, as well as a processor that’s easily capable of editing 1080p footage

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The Best Water Quality Test Kit for Your Home

If you’re worried about your home’s water quality—as many Americans justifiably are, in the wake of water scares in Flint, Michigan, and Newark, New Jersey—a home water quality test can ease your fears. After 50 hours of reporting, and after testing 11 different home water quality test kits, we’ve found that the Tap Score Advanced City Water Test is the best water quality test kit for your home. It measures a wide range of more than 100 potential contaminants and delivers the results in an easy-to-read, richly detailed report. If you’re worried only about lead, we recommend the much cheaper Safe Home Do-It-Yourself Lead in Drinking Water Test Kit.

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