There's no such thing as a universal best laptop. Whether a laptop works well for you — and there could be several that fit the bill — is a largely subjective decision that comes down to your primary use cases, your preferred operating system, and your budget.
This is an annoying fact of life for both laptop shoppers and those of us doling out "best laptop" recommendations, since we can't make custom judgment calls for everyone in need of a new machine. (I would love to, but I've got a thing after this.) However, after spending countless hours reviewing popular laptops, we can confidently point you in the right direction of the best laptops that stand out for meeting important, impartial standards for performance and build quality.
We think these laptops will serve most people well, and at the very least, we think they can be useful archetypes within different categories of computers (from MacBooks to Windows PCs, budget laptops, gaming laptops, and Chromebooks). Don't start from square one if you don't have to, you know?
Keep reading for Mashable's hands-on tested guide to the best laptops of 2024, including one picks for September: The Alienware m16 R2 is now the gaming laptop we recommend for most people, dethroning the pricey Lenovo Legion 9i (Gen 9).
FYI: We've listed the pricing and specs of our testing units, which may not apply to each laptop's base model.
