When all else fails, I use Oven Cleaner (e.g. Easy Off) to clean my stovetop. It cuts through the grease quickly and without effort. Just make sure to use dish washing gloves or it will really dry your skin out.

I moved in an apartment over a year ago where the prior tenants NEVER CLEANED THE STOVE.

It took about three long cleanings but I got most of the crap off with Bar Keeper's Friend and a scouring pad.

Bon Ami and hot water for the grates and the stove with a soft sponge. Boiling water will cut the grease if you put the grates in the sink. Dawn works well for degreasing if you're ok using a harsher chemical (after all they use it to get oil off penguins!)

I lived in a house on a ranch owned by the University where I was a grad student. The previous student had apparently fried every single meal he ever cooked there and the stove and wall were coated with grease (the oven was spotless though.) I used an orange based engine degreaser and then soap and water to clean the whole mess off. It worked really well and didn't leave a residue. That was also the kitchen that came with a bloodless castrator in the utensil drawer. Ah college...

Try a magic eraser - worked great on a rental apartment I was in for a few months.

Have you tried baking soda? It's actually a miracle-worker. Use it with either a moist sponge or a scouring pad.

If the oven has a self-cleaning feature, put the grates into the oven next time you clean the interior. All of the grease comes right off and they come out spotless.

I've had the best luck with a magic eraser, but I'm interested in some of these other ideas, namely the orange-based engine degreaser.

i second the baking soda suggestion. i use it all the time on the stove top and it works wonders. you just have to work it into a paste and let it sit for a few minutes, then go at it with a scouring pad and it'll be clean in no time! cheap, easy and healthy.

The best grease cutter I know is Windex. Just spray it right on, wait 30 seconds and wipe off with a paper towel. (Or prepare to have lots of hot hot water to rinse out your sponge/dish towel.)

It what we use on the tops of our kitchen cabinets.

When we moved into our present apartment the stovetop was absolutely horrible. I sprinkled baking soda all over the stovetop and then spritzed it with vinegar....all the lovely foam that it created! Then I let it sit for a while, wiped it off and then had to repeat the process twice more and the it was super clean with absolutely no scrubbing! And the same process did wonders for the tubs, toilet and both the bathroom and kitchen sink.

Orange CitraSolv. Period.

Thanks everyone. I've tried just straight baking soda, and no luck. I'll have to try the baking soda + vinegar, and degreasers.

Also, I'm afraid to use oven cleaner cause I don't want to ruin the black finish.

Either half a lemon and baking soda - or - remove the pieces that you can and put them in a bag or container with a small container dish full of ammonia (and seal the bag/container completely and set them in a garage or outside). By the next day the gunk slips right off. That's what I do with my oven racks because they get really dirty but can't go through the oven's self-cleaning cycle.

Bar Keepers Friend works miracles. Absolute miracles. (Oven cleaner will take paint off, so be very careful with it.)

Would the baking soda work on a muffin pan with drippings of ten-times-baked batter? Soaking it doesn't do anything anymore..

Oh, how I hate kitchen grease. It is very clear that the apartment we live in has never had a really good cleaning. We've been here since August, and I STILL haven't mustered up the courage and energy to do it myself. There's no vent for our stove, so the grease really is everywhere. I was hanging a plant from the ceiling the other day and put my hand on top of the window frame to steady myself. Greasy black gunk up there. YUCK. Spring Cure, please come soon and motivate me!

Greatest cleaner for EVERYTHING... Earthbrite.
It's a clay based, biodegradable Earth-friendly non abrasive cleaner I saw on HSN. I tried it and now I have a tub of it for the bathroom, a tub for cleaning my kitchen sink, a tub for my dishes and a tub for my stove. I once left a pot on the stove that turned black and Earthbrite brought it back to its sparkling condition. It takes a little elbow grease but it works! Here's the link so you can check it out... http://home-solutions.hsn.com/earth-brite-natural-all-purpose-cleaner-2-pack_p-3715053_xp.aspx?web_id=3715053&ocm=sekw

I just cleaned my grates last weekend - I put them in a large trash bag between layers of newspaper, then poured ammonia over the whole thing so it soaked all the newspaper, sealed the trash bag, and left it in the garage overnight. Then scrubbed in hot water with dish soap. The only thing I might do differently is put new newspaper and ammonia in and repeat a second night - I think there were some areas where the grate wasn't in good contact with the newspaper that were a little harder to clean. A second night with new newspaper and ammonia might solve this problem.

Another vote for Bon Ami...cuts grease like nothing else I've ever used.

@AdelineA: get some WATER softener (usually found at the hardware store rather than grocery), water not fabric softener, and soak the pan overnight.

@AdelineA: fabric softener works too but not if it's 10x baked on!

Thanks Rucy! Would have never thought of that!

Mr Clean Magic Erasers work AMAZINGLY well on stovetops -- I haven't met some stovetop gunk that could withstand the power of both the Magic Eraser. If it's a little stubborn, I just drop a damp/wet rag on it for a minute or two first, and then Mr Clean does the rest. I sound like an ad, but, I promise, it's great.

Err, "of the Magic Eraser" -- ignore that stray "both"!

there is no magic answer! I work at a commercial kitchen deep cleaning and canopy cleaning company and I can assure you the key is contact time with whatever chemical you use and elbow grease! leave the chemical to work as long as possible and gently scrape with a paint scraper or edge of a blunt knife.
Most decent decreasing products are pretty similar in the chemicals they are made of just buy a good quality one as cheap products are diluted right down