I love a good smoothie or protein shake to replace a meal. However, my bullet is crapping out on me and I need a new one. Something not too expensive, but still powerful! ($50-$100)
I love my breville. has an green smoothie function as well as an ice crush function. Breville BBL620SIL The Fresh and Furious Countertop Blender. It also has a self clean function that makes cleaning it a 60 second breeze. It's also Cook's Illustrated's winner for mid-priced blenders (~$200)
I have used a ninja and a vitamix and prefer my Ninja. I got the three part Ninja one where it has the blender attachment, single use cups and food processor attachment. I have had it over 7 years and does a great job. The Vitamix I use is older and is used mainly to blend drinks. It is powerful but I still end up with chunks of ice and often need to reblend it.
I am also a NutriBullet fan. I use mine almost exclusively for fruit smoothies, so I don’t need many bells and whistles. I had one for years and years, and recently got a new one, because the old one had been such a work horse.