OXO is generally a very dependable “cheap but not cheap” brand for basic handheld gadgets like can openers, whisks, peelers, etc. They make their branding on their Good Grips line with rubberized, chonky grips that some people don’t care for, but I am a fan of a vegetable peeler that my hand can hang onto that isn’t gonna go wildly sliding out of control into my thumb. They’re not lifetime items, but for stuff like peelers and graters, where the blade will wear out over time and you’re gonna replace it, anyway? OXO’s gonna last you at least that long, 9 times out of 10.
Calphalon, Cuisinart, All-Clad are all very solid brands for cookware. Lodge if you want cast iron. To expand a little on the clad stuff we’ve mentioned a few times, the main idea is that by layering aluminum between stainless steel, you get a very good mixture of speed-of-heating, heat-retention, evenness-of-heating, durability, and attractiveness. Fully clad cookware has the three (or more) layers running throughout the whole piece, for even moar heating evenness/retention, while cheaper stuff has a “cap” of layered metals soldered onto the bottom of the pot. Those can come off over long, heavy use, but fwiw, I’ve owned a cheapo $40 6qt pot with a tri-clad cap for about 12 years and it’s still hanging in there, and you know I cook a LOT and travel with my cookware for parties frequently.
Victorinox, J.A. Henckles, and Wusthoff are all good knife brands. Like someone else mentioned, the latter two do have “lines,” some of which vary in quality. A basic stamped blade that costs $40 is probably made in the same set of Chinese factories regardless of brand, heh. The nicer forged blades tend to come out of Europe or the US. Look for “full tang” blades, where the metal of the blade extends all the way down the handle, where it’s bolted in place. Partial tang blades are just a short sharp hunk of metal jammed into a plastic or wooden handle, and they have a bad habit of popping out the second you try to cut through something difficult like butternut squash or a big block of cheese.
I adore most Cuisinart appliances for mid-range stuff. Their 14-cup food processor is probably my next big kitchen purchase, clocking in at $230. It’s built like a tank, has very few fancy features to mess up, but it will process the ever-loving shit out of some food. Anything they’re selling in the $100-250 range is probably very solid. Down below that, like @Houngan mentions, Oster definitely has some good product, but there is some get-what-you-pay-for territory when you’re looking at sub-$50 appliances. Breville is highly regarded on the upper end, along with brands like Vitamix in the blender world, but at this point you’re looking into multi-hundreds-of-dollars purchases for someone who really knows what they like and want.
Commercial brands (like Volrath skillets) can be a nice “midrange dependable” option, esp. if you have a restaurant supply store nearby. Tend to be no-frills but built to take a beating in kitchens.
With appliances, most brands have some duds, either as individual units or particular models/lines that just seem to suck for whatever reason. You get unlucky sometimes. My original Kitchenaid mixer died on a pretty normal-sized sourdough bread recipe, overheating and sending toasty motor oil oozing out the fixtures. The replacement has been a tank for many years since.
You also get lucky sometimes. I got a $50 Black & Decker convection toaster oven when I moved out for college like 15 years ago that is somehow still trucking. It has a knob for temp, a knob for time, and a knob for cooking mode, and that’s it. Similarly, I’ve got a B&D food processor that’s lasted me over a decade, though in that time, I’ve shattered two of the lids, and those damned things cost near as much as the original unit did to replace by this point, hence my eyeing an upgrade next time around. I wouldn’t generally call B&D a reliable, notable kitchen brand, but, hey, sometimes it works out.
There’s also some, hmm, let’s say Bose/Alienware-esque brands in kitchen stuff. Ninja blenders come to mind upfront, maybe Instant Pot pressure cookers, that kinda thing. Heavy on the branding, higher on the cost scale, lots of gee-whiz tech, but maybe there’s just-as-good options available for a little less, oftentimes? They’re not bad by any means; you tend to get solid product from those brands. And buying in gets you into the ecosystem, man. So many recipes are written specifically for the pressure-cooking features and techniques of the Instant Pot! There’s some upside to being in on the popularity train line that.
I would generally avoid chef-branded kit, which is a little worse on the “branding over value” equation, like Monster cables. I’m sure the Pioneer Woman’s pretty printed enamel cast iron dutch oven is very nice, but the Lodge you can get on sale for 30% less is very much the same damn thing, heh.