Picking the Winners - the best projectors in each price range:
There is no best projector for everyone, in any price range. For those that want to get the most enjoyment out of their projector selection, there are many variables that each buyer should consider, in choosing the right projector for their viewing requirements.
How do you get started in choosing?
Look to your room, and your budget first.
If your budget is definitely $3000 or less, don't go and get excited about a $5000 or $8000 projector. If your room may be a challenge for projector mounting, figure out which ones definitely won't work in your room based on height or distance, and eliminate those as well.
Once you leave a "dedicated home theater or cave", for a more "family room" type of environment, then start eliminating projectors that aren't going to be able to handle the amount of ambient light you expect.
There are other issues as well, besides limited brightness and placement flexibility. For example, if you are sensitive to the rainbow effect, you probably want to avoid most DLP projectors. Hate background audible noise? Make sure the projector you buy, if not particularly quiet, is bright enough for you to run in eco-mode, when all projectors tend to be very quiet. If you are especially noise adverse, watch out for a few noisy dynamic irises as well. We'll list many of these issues in the Competitors section, in charts, so that, for example, you need a really quiet projector, you can find a list that only shows you the quieter ones (or if it's simpler, a list of the ones to avoid because they are noisier).