Does your water filter, filter?

Like many, we filter our water with a designated filter jug (extra large) in our refrigerator.  And, we use what is purportedly the largest manufacturer/seller of filters, and presumably most reliable -- Brita.

So, I was surprised when I opened my February 2012 edition of Consumer Reports Magazine to find that Brita carafes didn't appear in their ratings because the company had dropped their claims that their filters removed lead and lead removal is an important part of Consumer Reports scoring.

Because Brita had previously made claims about lead removal, Consumer Reports did conduct an off-record test and said it would have only tested as "fair".

This bit of information along with a new refrigerator purchase, in which we chose no water dispenser, got us to rethinking our water filtering needs.  

What does a refrigerator purchase have to do with this you ask?  Well, in addition to other reasons, we didn't want to be beholden to one brand of filter for the remainder of the life of the refrigerator.  Not having a filter allows us the freedom to choose what filter is best for us.

We haven't come to a definitive conclusion on which brand/system we will next choose, but here are the top models according to the Consumer Reports independent study ranked highest to lowest along with approximate price in several different categories:

Carafes/Dispensers

1. Tersano (Lotus LWT-100) $229
2. Clear2O (CWS100A) $15
3. ZeroWater (ZP-010) $38

Faucet Mounted:

1. Culligan (FM-15A) $15
2. Pur (FM-3700B) $30
3. Brita (Base on Tap OPFF-100) $19

Countertop:

1. Amway (eSpring 10-0188) $941
2. Shaklee (BestWater MTS2000 #82300) $260

Undersink:

1. Multi-Pure (MP750SB) $400
2. Aqua-Pure (by Cuno AP-DWS1000) $565
3. Ecowater (EPS 1000) $390
4. American Plumber (WLCS-1000) $251

Reverse Osmosis (these systems waste 3-5 gallons of water for every one gallon filtered):

1. Kinetico (K5 Drinking Water Station) $1,800
2. Coway (P-07QL) $700
3. Ecowater (ERO-375) $675
4. Culligan (Aqua-Cleer) $1,000
5. Whirlpool (WHER25 -- Lowe's) $146
6. Kenmore (Elite 38556) $255)

I have a friend who sells water filtering systems for Water Wizard and he always says, "Buy a filter or be a filter."

We know this is an important decision.  What do you think?  What filtering system do you use?