Best TV 2025: our top picks for the ultimate picture quality
From Mini-LED to OLED to budget options, we've got you covered with expert recommendations
Finding a good TV is next to impossible nowadays, but it can be done. There are so many different screen technologies, feature sets, and priorities to consider that no single TV can be the right one for everyone. If you want the deepest black levels, high brightness, great smart TV software, or a feature set optimized for gaming, there’s a television for you.
In this guide, we’re breaking down all of the best TVs on the market you can currently buy. Some offer truly stunning picture quality, some have pretty designs with super-thin bezels, and some deliver on the basics while looking good enough for movies and TV shows.
Best LCD and Mini-LED TVs
TCL QM8K
✅ Gorgeous picture quality with deep black levels
✅ Fast performance
✅ Accurate color reproduction
✅ Four screen size options
❌ Viewing angle could be better
❌ Only one HDMI eARC port
The TCL QM8K is perhaps the most impressive Mini-LED TV on the market. The combination of a sharp 4K resolution, advanced Mini-LED panels that experience practically no light haloing at all, and accurate color reproduction make it a great alternative to OLED and, in some cases, even better. The TV supports standards like Dolby Atmos and Vision IQ, there’s a 144Hz refresh rate, Filmmaker mode for more accurate colors in movies, and Bang & Olufsen speakers. It also has a sleek design that sits on a centered stand that makes it easy to set up.
Screen sizes: 65-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch, 98-inch
Starting price: $2,499.99 (regularly on sale for $1,499.99)
Sony Bravia 9
✅ Great picture quality for all content
✅ Better contrast and dimming zones helps movies pop
✅ Superb brightness levels
✅ Lifelike colors
❌ Only two HDMI 2.1 ports
❌ Not ideal for gaming
The Sony Bravia 9 is one of the most impressive Mini-LED TVs on the market, simply because of how good it is at everything it does. Whether you’re watching a Netflix documentary or Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Sony’s Mini-LED technology delivers better contrast and color than many other TVs of this caliber. It can also get really bright so you can see it no matter how bright your living room gets. It runs on Google TV and offers fast and smooth performance, there’s a 2.2.2 channel speaker system with killer sound quality, four HDMI ports sit on the back, and the stand is clean and easy to adjust.
Screen sizes: 65-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch
Starting price: $2,799.99
LG QNED92A
✅ Advanced Mini-LED panel with great picture quality
✅ Powerful processor is great for upscaling content to 4K
✅ webOS enables tons of useful AI features
✅ Support for Dolby Vision and AMD FreeSync
❌ Poor speaker quality
❌ No HDR10+ support
At a lower price than most other Mini-LED TVs, LG’s QNED92A series offers life-like picture quality thanks to the company’s advanced display technology. It allows for less color bleeding and light blooming for a more accurate picture, while the Alpha 8 AI processor manages to upscale low-quality content to 4K better than other TVs on the market. You also get a sleek design, plenty of HDMI ports, support for Dolby Vision and AMD FreeSync, and webOS with lots of handy AI features for a smarter experience.
Screen sizes: 65-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch
Starting price: $1,799.99
Hisense U8 Series
✅ Great picture quality with deep black levels
✅ High brightness for better clarity in bright rooms
✅ Great performance
✅ USB-C port for use as an external display
❌ Software is buggy
❌ Reflections can be a nuisance
A great choice if you don’t want to spend a ton of money is the U8 series from Hisense. The Mini-LED panel offers great picture quality with vibrant colors and deep black levels, and it comes with Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support. The panel also gets really bright, which makes it ideal for brighter rooms in your home. It’s powered by Google TV so you can easily access all of your favorite streaming apps, its 165Hz refresh rate can be handy for gaming, and you can choose between five screen sizes.
Screen sizes: 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch, 100-inch
Starting price: $1,499.99
Best OLED TVs
Sony Bravia 8 II
✅ Excellent picture quality with wide viewing angles
✅ Impressive brightness for OLED
✅ Solid performance and upscaling
✅ AirPlay 2, Google Cast, and special features for PS5
❌ Only two HDMI 2.1 ports
❌ Not as bright as competing Mini-LED TVs
One of the single-best TVs you can get is the Bravia 8 II from Sony. The screen has over 8 million self-lit pixels that are precisely controlled to deliver the brightest OLED display that Sony has ever shipped on a TV. It meets plenty of cinematic standards like Dolby Vision and Atmos, IMAX Enhanced, and DTS:X so you can enjoy your favorite movies in all their glory. You also get AirPlay 2, Google Cast, and special features for PS5 gamers. Additionally, it’s extremely fast and does a great job of upscaling content.
Screen sizes: 55-inch, 65-inch
Starting price: $2,599.99
LG G5 OLED
✅ Stunning picture quality with excellent brightness
✅ Vibrant, life-like colors
✅ Brightest OLED TV on the market
✅ Great performance with all the smarts you need
❌ Middling speakers
❌ Some general bugs with webOS
If you want the brightest OLED TV on the market, consider nothing else beyond the LG G5 OLED. The company managed to crank up the brightness on this model to the point that it nearly matches some of the brightest LCD TVs you can get, which is wildly impressive for an OLED panel. What’s more, it’s backed by deep black levels and accurate color reproduction that’s true to life and helps content jump off the screen. You also get great performance and all the smart features you could also for, as well as integration with LG’s smart home ecosystem.
Screen sizes: 55-inch, 65-inch, 77-inch, 83-inch, 97-inch
Starting price: $2,499.99
Samsung S95F OLED
✅ Excellent picture quality with wide color gamut
✅ Anti-glare coating for reduced reflections
✅ Powerful performance with great efficiency
✅ Plenty of smart features
❌ Black levels are elevated in bright rooms
❌ No Dolby Vision support
Samsung is always a safe bet when it comes to buying an OLED TV. Its S95F OLED is one of the best you can get for a variety of reasons; between its impressive brightness, vibrant colors, and deep black levels, it’s a well-rounded TV for watching all sorts of content. It also comes with an anti-glare coating so that you don’t have to worry about pesky reflections. The TV is powered by Samsung’s custom NQ4 AI Gen3 processor for killer performance, and it has plenty of smart features like AirPlay 2 and integration with Samsung SmartThings.
Screen sizes: 55-inch, 65-inch, 77-inch, 83-inch
Starting price: $2,299.99
Panasonic Z95A OLED
✅ Great, balanced picture quality
✅ Ideal for gaming with instant response time and 144Hz refresh rate
✅ Great performance and upscaling ability
✅ Built-in soundbar for improved audio quality
❌ Black levels get elevated in bright rooms
❌ Only two HDMI 2.1 ports
Panasonic isn’t widely known for the quality of its TVs, but the Z95A OLED takes the cake as one of the best high-end televisions you can get. The bright OLED screen produces great colors and vibrancy to make movies and TV shows look great in your living room. Meanwhile, the 144Hz refresh rate and instant response time make it ideal for gamers who want a plug-and-play experience. You also get great performance and smart features powered by Amazon Fire TV OS. What’s more, it comes with a built-in soundbar that kicks out better audio quality than most high-end TVs.
Screen sizes: 55-inch, 65-inch, 77-inch
Starting price: $2,197.99
Best budget-friendly TVs
TCL S5 Series
✅ 4K HDR screen
✅ Fire TV software
✅ Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support
✅ Six screen sizes available
❌ Not very bright
❌ Performance is lackluster
A great go-to budget TV is TCL’s S5 series, which is offered in six different sizes to fit whatever space you need a TV for. The 4K UHD resolution means you can enjoy 4K content with all the clarity and sharpness of higher-end TVs, and it’s powered by Fire TV so you have access to all of your favorite streaming apps. It also ships with Dolby Vision and Atmos support, integration with Alexa and Google Assistant, and plenty of ports like three HDMI jacks and 3.5mm audio.
Screen sizes: 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch
Starting price: $209.99
Hisense QD7 Series
✅ 4K UHD panel with good black levels
✅ Accurate colors
✅ Fire TV OS software
✅ Six screen sizes available
❌ Screen quality uniformity is disappointing
❌ Not bright enough for bright rooms
If you want a cheap TV with surprisingly good picture quality, Hisense has you covered. The QD7 series offers a 4K UHD panel with a Mini-LED backlight, which allows for deeper black levels to help improve the contrast of moves and TV shows. It’s backed by full HDR support (including Dolby Vision), and it runs Amazon’s Fire TV OS for tight integration with Alexa smart home features. You can choose between six different screen sizes, too.
Screen sizes: 50-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch, 100-inch
Starting price: $399.99
Amazon Fire TV 4 Series
✅ 4K UHD panel with HDR10+
✅ Instantly wakes up when you’re nearby
✅ Good performance with Wi-Fi 6
✅ Alexa+ compatible
❌ Color range is narrow
❌ Low brightness
Amazon sells some of the smartest TVs on the market thanks to Fire TV’s integration with Alexa+. You can get the same feature set for a low price with the Fire TV 4 Series, which offers 4K UHD screens that come with full HDR10+ support. The TV wakes up when you enter a room and starts showing ambient art, and you can begin to interact with it by using the remote and triggering Alexa+. It’ll give you access to your smart home devices, streaming apps, and content you’ve purchased from Prime Video. Plus, you can pick from one of three screen sizes, all at affordable prices.
Screen sizes: 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch
Starting price: $329.99
Roku Plus Series QLED Smart TV (2025)
✅ 4K UHD Mini-LED panel with solid picture quality
✅ Good brightness
✅ Ideal for gaming
✅ Roku OS software
❌ Narrow viewing angle
❌ Color quality varies
The best budget TV for Roku fans also happens to be the one for those who care a bit deeper about picture quality. The Roku Plus Series QLED offers a Mini-LED panel that gets you much darker black levels than other TVs in this price range, which helps to improve contrast in everything you watch. The 4K resolution keeps everything pin-sharp, and it gets plenty bright. It’s also ideal for gamers thanks to its low latency and 120Hz refresh rate. It, of course, runs Roku OS and gets you access to all of your favorite streaming apps.
Screen sizes: 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch
Starting price: $499.99
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.
Roku's strategy of entering the budget TV space with their Plus Series QLED is really paying off. The combination of their reliable OS and decent hardware specs at that price point gives them a competitve edge against Fire TV and Google TV offerings. Gaming features with 120Hz at under $500 is impressive positioning for them.