Best TVs 2019

We're pretty picky about our TVs, which is why we've spent over 500 hours testing and reviewing more than 40 sets in the past 12 months to find the best TVs of 2019. After testing dozens of smart TVs, we chose the LG C9 OLED TV as our favorite overall 4K model. It offers the best combination of picture and sound, a truly intelligent smart-TV experience and a decidedly sleek design.

Looking to spend less? The Vizio M Series Quantum is the best value-priced 4K TV around, delivering a premium smart-TV experience and quantum-dot enhanced picture quality for under $1,000. If you want to save the most money, check out the TCL 5-Series Roku Smart 4K TV (43S517). It's the best cheap TV, selling for under $400, but you'll need to settle for a smaller screen.

There's a lot more out there, from premium OLED alternatives to giant, 75-inch screens. You'll even find a great outdoor TV on our list. And if you want to learn more about the latest changes in the TV world, we've got announcements, like TCL's 8-Series QLED TV going on sale this week, or a sneak peek at the latest models, like LG's incredible 88-inch 8K OLED TV, including an OLED model. And be sure to check out the latest 4K TV deals.

Black Friday TV deals to watch

If you've been waiting to buy a TV until prices dropped, this year's Black Friday deals will provide some of the best discounts yet. We're tracking Black Friday Amazon deals, Black Friday Best Buy deals, Black Friday Walmart deals, Black Friday Target deals, and sales from other retailers, who will be fighting it out to offer the most aggressive discounts on TVs big and small. All the major brands will see major sales, including LG, Samsung, TCL, Vizio and Sony.

Black Friday isn't just about getting a cheap 4K TV. You should also see steep discounts on the most premium sets, including LG's OLED lineup and Samsung's QLED TVs. In fact, LG's 55-inch B8 OLED TV dropped from $1,400 to $999 in late September, so it could go even cheaper during Black Friday. Bookmark our best Black Friday TV deals page to stay up to date on all the latest sales.

1. LG C9 OLED TV

Screen Size: 65 inches | Screen Type: OLED | Refresh Rate: 120 Hz | HDMI ports: 4 HDMI 2.1 | Size: 57 x 32.7 x 1.8 inches | Weight: 55.6 pounds

The LG C9 OLED wowed us in more ways than one, with a best-in-class OLED display, superb smart features and a design that looks impressive even when the TV is off.

The OLED display is the best we've seen on a 4K TV, with excellent color reproduction, precision lighting and unbeatable black levels. Combine this stunning performance with strong sound quality and cutting-edge connectivity, like HDMI 2.1, and the C9 OLED is clearly the best TV we've reviewed.

But LG pushes things just a bit further with the addition of extra-brainy smart-TV features. Building upon the already-impressive webOS platform, the new ThinQ AI-enhanced TV has both Google Home and Amazon Alexa built-in, an industry first. Pair that with a new dashboard for controlling all of your smart home devices, and the LG C9 OLED looks to be the smartest TV we've tested.

Read our full LG C9 OLED review.

2. Vizio M Series Quantum

Screen Size: 65 inches | Screen Type: LCD with Quantum Dot | Refresh Rate: 60 Hz | HDMI ports: 4 | Size: 57.3 x 35.6 x 2.8 inches | Weight: 53.4 pounds

The Vizio M Series Quantum delivers a premium quantum-dot display for a reasonable price and adds SmartCast 3.0 — Vizio's evolving smart TV platform — to make it the best TV you'll get for under $1,000.

With local dimming and color-boosting technology, the M Series Quantum has impressive picture quality and great HDR performance, complete with Dolby Vision support. A built-in Google Chromecast opens up a vast landscape of apps and services, and the updated SmartCast software includes support for Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, making it just as good for iOS users.

Read our full Vizio M Series Quantum 65-inch (M658-G1) review.

3. TCL 6-Series 65-inch Roku TV

Screen Size: 65 inches | Screen Type: LCD | Refresh Rate: 60 Hz | HDMI ports: 3 | Size: 57.1 x 32.9 x 3.0 inches | Weight: 52.3 pounds

The 2018 TCL 6-Series Roku TV is one of the best bargains in the TV world, offering a great smart-TV experience and a surprisingly high level of quality from top to bottom, all for less than $1,000.

The Roku TV platform is one of our favorites for smart TVs, offering a huge selection of apps and content, intuitive navigation and plenty of fun features. But the TV itself is what really won us over, with excellent picture quality, great backlighting and HDR capability, Dolby Vision support and a sleek, well-made design.

Read our full TCL 6-Series Roku TV review.

4. TCL 5-Series Roku Smart 4K TV

Screen Size: 43 inches | Screen Type: LCD | Refresh Rate: 60 Hz | HDMI ports: 3 | Size: 37.8 x 22.1 x 2.9 inches | Weight: 18.5 pounds

Great things can come in small (and affordable) packages. In fact, this is our pick for the best cheap TV overall. The TCL 5-Series Roku Smart 4K TV (43S517) is smaller than the 65-inchers we usually recommend, but with an attractive sub-$500 price, great picture and sound quality, and a slew of genuinely exciting features, this 43-inch model is a great deal. (And you can find larger sizes that are similarly affordable.)

TCL's reputation for better-than-average quality is well earned, and the TCL 43S517's feature set makes this TV one of the best values we've seen. Despite the low price, you get Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos audio support and integrated Roku voice search, giving you an outsize smart-TV value in a size that's perfect for a second TV or for use in smaller apartments.

Read our full TCL 5-Series Roku Smart 4K TV (43S517) review.

5. Samsung Q90 QLED TV

Screen Size: 65 inches | Screen Type: LCD with Quantum Dot | Refresh Rate: 120 Hz | HDMI ports: 4 | Size: 57.1 x 32.7 x 1.6 inches | Weight: 62.4 pounds

The Samsung Q90 QLED TV is the best premium 4K LCD TV on the market and a valid alternative to OLED. Samsung's quantum-dot technology continues to close the gap with OLED, offering premium picture quality so good that we had to compare the two side by side to spot the differences. Packed with every technology Samsung has to improve picture quality — ranging from quantum dots and black filters to 400+ dimming zones and an arsenal of processing smarts — the Q90 is the best 4K TV Samsung makes, and it shows.

It also has some unexpectedly smart features that nobody else offers, like AMD's FreeSync for optimized gaming, exclusive Apple TV content and a polished smart home control dashboard that makes it the brainy hub for all of your connected devices.

Read our full Samsung Q90 QLED TV review.

6. Insignia 43-Inch 4K Fire TV Edition

Screen Size: 43 inches | Screen Type: LCD | Refresh Rate: 60 Hz | HDMI ports: 3 | Size: 38.2 x 22.5 x 3.2 inches | Weight: 19.6 pounds

Amazon keeps trying to make Fire TV work as a competitor to Roku, and that's finally happening with the Insignia 43-inch 4K Fire TV Edition. After a few disappointing early attempts, the Insignia made us sit up and take notice with respectable performance for an inexpensive TV. This model offers good picture quality and solid sound, and its color gamut and accuracy beat those of other Amazon-powered TVs. This Insignia is easily the best Fire TV Edition we've seen, and it's the only one to get our recommendation.

It's also packed with features for the Amazon faithful, such as built-in Alexa voice interaction, Amazon's huge selection of Fire TV apps, and a smart TV experience that puts Amazon Prime Video front and center. This is a solid sub-$500 smart TV and the best Amazon-based TV on the market.

Read our full Insignia 43-inch 4K Fire TV Edition review.

7. Vizio P-Series 65-inch P65-F1

Screen Size: 65 inches | Screen Type: LCD | Refresh Rate: 120 Hz | HDMI ports: 5 | Size: 57 x 32.7 x 2.7 inches | Weight: 54.3 pounds

 Vizio TVs are popular with the cost- and cord-cutting crowd, thanks to low prices and a good number of free content options that come built into the company's smart TVs. The Vizio P-Series 65-inch P65-F1 is the best of the bunch. The 4K panel offers 120-Hz refresh rates, excellent backlighting with local dimming and an impressive number of HDMI ports for hooking up your other devices. This set also has great picture quality and HDR support, including Dolby Vision.

You will give up some conveniences, like a voice assistant (Vizio doesn't have one), and you'll get only a limited selection of local apps. But with built-in Chromecast supporting thousands of apps and easy content sharing from your phone or tablet, there's still a wealth of content for people who are ditching their cable or satellite subscriptions.

Read our full Vizio P-Series 65-Inch P65-F1 review.

8. Sony X950G 75-inch Android TV

Screen Size: 75 inches | Screen Type: LCD | Refresh Rate: 120 Hz | HDMI ports: 4 | Size: 65.9 x 37.8 x 2.9 inches | Weight: 77.6 pounds

TVs are bigger than ever, but they aren't always great. Thankfully, the Sony X950G 75-inch Android TV manages to avoid most of the big-screen pitfalls, delivering great picture quality, wide viewing angles and a feature set that's just as impressive as the 75-inch display. Sony has also polished up the smart TV experience, updating its TVs with the sleeker Android TV 8.0 and giving the TV a redesigned remote control. For an extra-large screen that's just as big on value, the Sony X950G 75-inch Android TV is a smart buy.

Read our full Sony X950G 75-inch Android TV review.

9. SunBriteTV Veranda Series (2019)

Screen Size: 55 inches | Screen Type: LCD | Refresh Rate: 60 Hz | HDMI ports: 3 | Size: 49.4 x 28.7 x 3.5 inches | Weight: 47 pounds

The average TV is no match for rain, snow, dust or heat. But the SunBriteTV Veranda Series 55-inch outdoor TV is made for those conditions, with a rugged design that can withstand the elements. Whether it's in a cold garage or out on an enclosed porch, the weather-sealed chassis fends of precipitation, dirt and bugs, and the screen is made to be viewed in shady conditions where even ambient sunlight would trip up a normal TV.

With HDR capability and strong overall performance, the SunBrite is a great TV for any outdoor setting. And thanks to some excellent built-in speakers, there's no need to get a soundbar. If you want a great outdoor TV, this is the one to get.

Read our full SunBriteTV Veranda Series 55-inch (2019) review.

What 4K TVs Cost

You can find smaller 4K TVs that sell for less than $500, which will spare you some cash for some of the best soundbars or streaming devices to go with your set. However, you'll want to pay more for features like HDR support and a decent number of HDMI ports. Generally speaking, you'll pay around $500 for a lower-price, 55-inch, 4K TV and at least $900 for a 65-inch model. Premium 4K TVs can sell for thousands of dollars, but we find that the sweet spot for superior performance and value is right around the $2,000 mark.

How We Test TVs

Evaluating TVs is about more than just kicking back to watch a movie. We lab test every TV, measuring color gamut, color accuracy and brightness to objectively see which sets are the best for these key indicators. We also test for lag time using a Leo Bodnar HDMI input delay tester, which measures to the millisecond how long it takes for content to travel from the original source to the screen. We use these results to make numbers-based comparisons about color and display quality.

MORE: Who Makes the Smartest Smart TV? Here Are the Results

We spend time with each set to get more-subjective evaluation and see how our lab results translate into real-world performance. We compare sets side by side and view samples from the latest movies, specialized test patterns that highlight strengths and weaknesses of each display, and a range of content across several sources. With that information, we can tell you which TVs look best, sound best and offer the best viewing experience.

For details on our testing methodology, please see How Tom's Guide Tests and Reviews TVs.

We also evaluate the smart TV functions and apps for each TV, looking at everything from the remote control design to the voice interaction. Get a more detailed look at each smart TV operating system in our look at Who Makes the Smartest Smart TV?