Lodge for sure. We have two and love them.

We've been big fans of Lodge skillets for years now - 12" new, 9" used - inexpensive and solid!!
We rinse them out quickly with hot water to scrape off any residue, then wipe dry with a paper towel and heat back up on a hot burner. If they still look a little dry, we rub some clarified bacon fat on them, and they're good to go!

I have three cast iron skillets in present use, as well as a dutch oven and a griddle. None of them has any pedigree whatsoever. One says "Made in Taiwan" and another says "Made in USA" and there is no difference at all.

Buy the Lodge skillet if you are unsure, but shop the junk sales if you are confident. Then you can clean up the skillet by throwing it in a bonfire, or soaking it in Coca-Cola to get rid of the rust, reseason and get ready to hand it down to your grandchildren. My nephew uses cast iron from his great-grandmother's kitchen almost daily and loves it. Wonderful stuff.

Ditto Lodge

I have a Lodge too. My advice is just not to overthink it. Shop around and buy whatever feels comfortable in your hands. A 10-inch cast iron skillet, new, should be <$30. A lifetime piece at a bargain price--if the first one you get doesn't work for you for whatever reason, return it if you can, and if not, on to a different model.

A good brand, if you can find someone that is foolish enough to be selling it, is Wagner. Sadly the company no longer exists. I have a 12 inch skillet, I think I paid about $15 over 20 years ago. It would take life changing money for me to sell it, and then I would have to think about and probably turn down the offer.

If you want to have some fun, look for some antique Griswold skillets. The insides are machined and much smoother than any new skillet made today. They aren't much more than the Lodge ones. I have a 12" Griswold that my aunt gave me that is the most amazing pan I own.

My husband got me an inexpensive one from Target for Christmas and it's fabulous.

I have a Lodge skillet that I like very much. It was made in the USA and I think their regular cast iron products still are even if the enameled ones are not.

It's usually pretty easy to find a cast iron skillet in a thrift store that carries kitchen goods. Lots of websites will walk you through cleaning and seasoning a beat-up one.

I second (fourth?) the "buy a used/vintage" skillet... my two workhorses are from an estate sale and an antique market - and they're sooooooo smooth and silky, nothing sticks to them ever. I just re-seasoned them and they were good to go. They're nothing like what's available new these days (I sound like an old fogey... I'm 42).

I love my Lodgeware. Cheap @ Marshalls/Homegoods/TJMaxx/BJs

I second buying used though either Craigslist or, better, if you have a Freecycle group in your area, get hooked in. I got a couple of water cooler (office type for the 5-gal jugs) free through my group and was able to get rid of lots of old books that I would never read again.

Lodge! "Fancier" brands are overkill/overspending. I have a 12", 6", round griddle, and two-burner griddle, and one or the other gets used nearly every day.

I have a 10" Lodge skillet purchased as part of a set and no-name #7 and #5 pans from the thrift store. We seasoned them all the same with flax oil and they're all fairly non-stick but we use the thrift store pans a lot more often because the metal is slightly thinner so they're not so heavy and the metal inside is smoother so food releases from it slightly better. I keep a close watch on the #7 at potlucks because I see people eyeing it jealously.

I have a Lodge skillet as well as another non-name one that I got for like $10. Both are fantastic pans. I think that the pre-seasoning on the Lodge pan is nice, saves time since you can use it right away, and well worth the extra money. If you want to take the time to season a pre-owned skillet (it's a good skill to have), then great.

I've been using the same lodge skillet for 34 years - I got it when I was 17 and it's never let me down!

Griswold pans; they are much finer than Lodge, and there are lots of vintage dealers around.

Two thumbs up for Lodge.

I also have a Lodge, but I agree with SirBaldMan about the Wagner skillets. My mother received Wagnerware pots & pans when she got married 55 years ago and they're still being used today. I have the pots, my sister took the cast iron skillets (much to my dismay...) They're as good now as they were 55 years ago.
Try looking for really good cast iron at flea markets. They always have a good selection. They'll need to be cleaned and reseasoned, as most of them will be a bit rusty, but that's easy enough to do, and then you'll have a lifetime of quality cookware.

Yet another vote for Lodge. They're great.

Lodge for sure. For years I couldn't use my mother's (and probably my grandmother's) cast iron skillets because I have arthritis in my hands and wrists. But Lodge cast iron skillets have a "helper handle" so I can use two hands to pick them up. LOVE my Lodge skillets!

I have one Lodge skillet and I love it! And if you need help with skillet maintenance and do's and dont's, Lodge has folks on staff that will happily, and patiently, answer all of your questions. How great is that???

Do yourself a favor. Visit Lodge outlet at NC. I did so, when I visited Myrtle beach. Felt like buying one of each in the entire store but settled to only a few. One caution; never buy online. In shop, you will get to choose one with minimum imperfections (call them tiny dents). No big deal though.

Try American Culinary online - they sell Wagner 1891, still made in the USA, milled smooth on the inside, various sizes. I just bought some to replace some old Wagner left behind by a fool (me) and like it so much better than Lodge.

Actually, it's wagnerware.com now.