Clearly you are already getting opinions that run the gamut. But I'd echo a few consistent ones.
Bigger and more hp is always better. This is an area where some extra money will save you in the long run. Handles bigger, heavier storms better and will last longer due to not straining so much. Not to mention the extra hp you need to expend just using a smaller machine.
Not sure I agree with avoid the big box stores. As has been mentioned, most machines are actually made by the same company. The difference is in the bells and whistles that most of the time either don't matter or break soon thereafter.
My snowblower is a Noma (made by Murray, used to be the OEM for many, including Sears). I bought it at Home Depot. It is a monster, 12HP, 30" wide. I had a 400+ foot driveway at the time and needed to move a lot of snow. It was the same as the comparable John Deere and Chraftsman models, and made by the same OEM, but not as "fancy" and therefore cheaper.
30+ years later it is still going strong, despite being used for almost every New England snowstorm since that time (27 of them doing that 400' driveway). Started yesterday on the first pull.
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