I just graduated from college, and I know its important to get the right mattress, office chair and shoes. For the mattress, I'm looking to spend ~ $500. What are some good ones around that price?
I just spent three months researching mattresses - including trying out dozens of mattresses in stores - so this LazyWeb question is relevant to me because I know shopping for mattresses is a P.I.T.A. Mattresses are a very personal thing, though, so you may hate what I like...<p>I tried out everything from the cheapest mattress at Sam's Club to a $30,000 mattress. In box-spring mattresses, I liked the Vera Wang series from Serta...but that is way above your price range. (It isn't their highest-end line, but it is one their premium ones.) You definitely don't want a continuous spring mattress, which is what many of the box-spring ones are in your price range, unfortunately.<p>We tried several natural latex mattresses and hated them, so I was leery of trying a completely memory-foam one, but my online research said that memory-foam mattresses had the highest customer satisfaction ratings.<p>I ended up buying a memory-foam mattress from BedInABox that is actually better than the $4000 Tempur-Pedics I tried. I paid $7XX or so, but that was for a California King. I think you could find a smaller one for $500. They shipped the 11" thick mattress to my door, shrink-wrapped in a box. My wife also loves it...it is the first mattress we both actually like in our 12 years of marriage. I think it has all the upsides of the Tempur-Pedics, but none of the downsides (it's cheaper, the foam rebounds faster, and it doesn't get hot, etc.)
W Hotels sells their beds through their website, and frequently have "employee only" deals (40-60% off) that become publicly available so often you would think it must be intentional. I bought their "The W Bed" queen set (box spring + mattress) for $705 about 4 years ago that way, and love it. I seem to recall reading somewhere else that it may be a rebranded Simmons Beautyrest, if that helps. As you point out, getting a great mattress and chair is well worth the initial cost.
Room & Board makes some nice mattresses, at lower prices than mattress stores, but still somewhat above your price range: <a href="http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/subcategory/list.do?catalog=room&category=rm_bedrooms&subcategory=mattress" rel="nofollow">http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/subcategory/list.do?catalog=...</a>