Hi Jmackk,
Your question about which manufacturer has the best “bang for the buck” or which are the “top manufacturers” has been asked many times but unfortunately there isn’t any meaningful way to answer it because there isn’t a “top 5” or a “top 10” or even a “top 100” that would apply to everyone and most of the better options would only be available locally or regionally anyway and “brand shopping” can be among the worst ways to choose a mattress. You can see some comments about the top 15 largest manufacturers in this article and there are currently over 40 manufacturers and retailers that are members of the site (and the list will continue to grow over time) that I recommend “as a group” that I believe compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service and transparency but there are many others across the country that aren’t members here that would also be well worth considering and many of the members are only available locally or online. You can see my reply to a similar “best bang for the buck” or “top manufacturers” question in post #2 here.
The most reliable way to choose a mattress is to follow the 5 steps in the mattress shopping tutorial (and/or the optional online step) and once you have read some of the basic information and have decided on the types of mattresses you are most interested in testing then the next step would be to find the more knowledgeable and transparent manufacturers and retailers that are available in your area.
If you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about the better options or possibilities I’m aware of that are reasonably close to you.
There is also more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label.
Phoenix