Experts like Consumer Reports, Prevention Magazine, Runner's World and others recommend treadmills yearly that they think offer the best in value. There are also other reviews and ratings resources as well.

This article will tell you which treadmill ratings to look at when buying, how they work and what you should know about each of them.

There are are 2 different types of treadmill reviews - consumer and expert ratings.

1) Consumer treadmill reviews are written by someone who has purchased the treadmill and then written a review of the treadmill online. Several sites offer these types of consumer reviews including epinions and amazon.

These can be helpful in giving you an overall picture of a specific treadmill - especially if there are many reviews.

The disadvantage of these reviews is that - because people are more likely to leave a negative review than a positive one - the numbers are often biased to give you a falsely negative impression of that particular model.

For example, if you read 3 negative reviews of model A then you're likely to think model A is a poor machine. However, it's very possible that there are 3000 other very happy model A buyers that have just not left reviews - that's a 0.1% dissatisfaction rate, which is actually quite good.

Also consumer ratings can also be easily rigged. Because rating sites let basically anyone post a review, this leaves the door wide open for 'false' reviews, whether left by the competition (a negative review) or even someone working for the treadmill company (a positive review).

All of this doesn't mean that consumer reviews are bad - they just don't always give a fair picture of the treadmill (especially if there are only a few reviews). For the best recommended consumer treadmill, look for a treadmill that has lots of reviews which sound like a normal person has written them.

2) Expert Treadmill Recommendations are written by people behind resources like Consumer Reports, Prevention Magazine, Runners World etc.

These tend to be more reliable however again keep in mind that every one of these reviewers weigh treadmill features differently. So for example, one expert may think that a long warranty is more important that the number of workout programs. This results in different treadmills taking the prize for "Best Recommended Buy".

If you hunt around, you can usually find which features these experts were looking at and how they scored each feature. This will give you a better idea as to if these treadmills are the best choice for you.

While consumer and expert reviews can help you find the best treadmill, the last thing to ask yourself is if this treadmill is the best choice for you. For example, you may be taller or prefer to run, so you'll want to look for a longer (58" or more) treadbelt.

You may not be planning to use your treadmill very much - only for light walking when the weather is poor. In this case, you can save a bit and maybe go with a lesser priced model than a runner would need.

Bottom line? If you've done the research, you're the expert on which treadmill is best for you. Take your time, enjoy the search and have fun with your new treadmill!