Consumer Reports rates athletic shoes with a total point count that includes scores for weight, cushioning, stability, fit, flexibility and breathability. We checked their online review today (March 7, 2012) and found the ratings and models have not been updated since their buying advice for athletic shoes since our August 2009 report.  Our Recommendation:  We've purchased several top rated models of shoes and have returned to the Asics GEL models for our own treadmill and Elliptical workouts (See best elliptical machines).  We decided to spend more and get a higher performance running model, the Asics GEL GT-2150 for just a few dollars more. We like it alot. Two of ten athletic shoes for men were ranked "CR Recommended" with one shoe model from Champion sold at Payless getting a coveted "CR Best Buy" check mark.  Another shoe model from Asics got the "CR Recommended" check mark, meaning it was a good combination of rating and price.

The top two shoes for men are:

1. Asics GEL-150TR - men (CR Recommended @ $65)
   These have been replaced by the ASICS Men's GEL-160 TR Cross-Training Shoe ($60)
   
   
2. Champion Amp 2 from Payless (CR Best Buy @ $45)
   Why buy #2 when you can get #1 for the same price with the above links?
   

For women, three of the top ten shoes rated in their survey got the "CR Recommended" check mark including one shoe model from Asics scoring well.

The top three shoes for women were:

1. Asics GEL-150TR - Women (CR Recommended @ $65)
   Replaced by the 160TR or the higher performance 170TR
   ASICS Women's Gel  160TR Training Shoe &  170TR Cross-Training Shoe
   
   
2. Ryka Core Strength XT (CR Recommended @ $70)
   
   
3. Nike Zoom Quick Sister+ @ $85
   #5 Avia A104W (CR Recommended @ $45)

We found it interesting that no other manufactures' highly advertised shoe (such as shoes from Adidas, Ecco, Northface, Nike, Merrel, Reebok, New Balance, Sketchers, or Under Armour) got the "CR Recommended" or "CR Best Buy" check marks.