Hoover - Convertible U4123

In some ways, not much would change! Avoid bagless (filter queen, messy to empty), cheaper models would have more reliability problems though vacuums were simpler and easier to repair then. Good quality canister vacuum such as an Electrolux if you have a mix of hard floors and rugs. Electrolux also had better than average filtration for the time and was a bit more compact and easier to pull around than many competitors. Compact/tristar similarly a good option. If you had mostly carpet or prefered to sweep hard floors, a quality upright such as a hoover convertible would be hard to beat. Back when consumer reports was truly excellent (they're hit and miss now), Electrolux usually earned the top rank for canisters and hoover at the top for uprights.

What specific vacuum model did you buy? Shag carpets are harder to clean because the long shags(?) or tassels can jam up the brushroll. You need a vacuum with a high range of carpet height adjustment. The recommendation of a used Kirby is actually quite a good one. Good condition used Kirbys can be easily found from $50-100. They're heavy but they last forever. They have a huge range of height adjustment and they were vacuuming shag carpets when shag was invented. Other old school direct air or dirty air vacuums with carpet height adjustment will also work like the Eureka F&G uprights, Hoover Convertible, and Sanitaire Tradition to name a few. If you like used vintage vacuums this is a good excuse to check them out. The Kirby and Sanitaire are still sold brand new. Of these vacuums Kirbys have the longest lasting belts, each belt should last 4-6 months each and they're really cheap to replace like $2 a piece. The Eureka, Hoover, and Sanitaire belts need to be replaced more often but they're even cheaper around $1 each.