In the past 20-25 years my dear sister and I have had two toasters, both great.
The first one was a Kitchenaid, dark red with slots for regular sliced toast and bagels!
It browned evenly and the bagels browned and the middle was warm and soft.
We replaced it when my dear sister found a pink (her favorite color) Smeg toaster, with two long slots. It also browns evenly and I still use it.
I believe you get what you pay for and one needs to do a lot of research.
The KitchenAid toaster? We gave it to a neighbor and it still works like new.
The KitchenAid toaster was bought here on QVC.