Hi maskedrose,
The first post in the thread (and the links inside it) is the “step by step” tutorial and has all the most important information about choosing the “best” mattress for you. The rest of the thread isn’t necessary 
[quote]After jumping off the Keetsa idea, I read many blogs about Saatva mattresses. I’ve also emailed Saatva a few times and felt that their customer service was pretty good. I’ve had my eye on their flagship model for a few months now, but something like a gut feeling has made me hesitant to pull the trigger and complete my transaction.
While I have not ruled out Saatva, I do feel like for the materials they are using and the claims they make, I wonder if it is possible I can spend the same amount of money (I am willing to spend 1200, begrudingly) and get a higher quality bed. Since I am no longer fully committed to Saatva, I am wondering where I should begin with my new search. Parklane looks appealing, but I cannot possibly justify a delivery fee of $400. I really do feel like most of the good mattress companies are outside of NY, while the five boroughs are crawling with mattress salesmen crooks.[/quote]
Post #1 here has an analysis of the Saatva mattress and their marketing claims (which I would take with a grain of salt) and a forum search on Saatva (you can just click this) will also bring up more information and feedback about them.
As you mentioned … Parklane is one of the members here and would be a great choice if you were local and could test their mattresses in person but if you are out of their area the the shipping costs would add a significant amount to the purchase cost and if you made a choice that didn’t work out for you then there would also be substantial costs involved in exchanging it for another one.
[quote]If this helps at all, here is a description of my habits and what I am looking for:
-I sleep mostly on my back, but will pretty much sleep in any position.
-I don’t like firm beds because I wake up feeling bruised
-I don’t like plush beds because I feel like I have zero support.
-I kind of want to feel like I am on top of my mattress, not in it. But I also don’t want to feel like I am sleeping on the floor.
-My boyfriend will sleep on anything so his opinion doesn’t matter, haha![/quote]
This would all be valuable information to provide to an online manufacturer or retailer you were considering and to a lesser degree a local retailer or manufacturer because you would be testing a mattress for your specific needs and preferences rather than going by a description of your body type and sleeping positions which would be necessary for an online purchase (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). I would also keep in mind that a mattress can be both soft (in the comfort layers for pressure relief) and firm (in the support layers for support/alignment) at the same time but with a local purchase then your own personal testing for PPP (using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post) is the most effective way to to make the best choice for you.
No … not by a long shot. There are many thousands of mattress designs other than pillowtops available across the country.
All materials have some offgassing (even completely natural materials) and there are many different definitions of “healthy” materials but in most cases any polyfoam or memory foam that is certified by CertiPur or any latex (which is all certified by Oeko-Tex or Eco-Institut) would be “safe enough” for most people. For those that have specific chemical sensitivities or health issues such as MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities) or other issues that restrict their choice of materials to a much greater degree than most (or wish to use more natural materials for personal reasons outside of “safety”) then post #2 here is a good starting point to help sort through all the complex, conflicting, and contradictory information that about “safety” that is so common in the industry (on both sides of the discussion) and that can help them answer the question of “how safe is safe enough for me?”. For most people though that kind of time consuming, technical, and often frustrating research isn’t really necessary if they stick to certified materials.
This is the norm with the major manufacturers who use lower quality materials in the comfort layers of their mattresses (which are the first to break down) but there are many smaller manufacturers that use much higher quality materials (in the same or lower price ranges as their larger competitors) that don’t have the same issues. There are also many smaller manufacturers across the country who still make two sided mattresses (there is more in post #3 here about the pros and cons of two sided mattresses).
Post #2 here includes the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the New York City area and post #7 here also has a more “categorized” list with more detailed descriptions of some of them. You are certainly not restricted to major manufacturers (which I would suggest you avoid completely as suggested in this article).
The tutorial post also includes links to lists of some of the better online choices I’m aware of.
Phoenix