Brand Affinity

I don't tend to think of myself as being particularly tied to brands, but after reading my friend Lyza's Brand Affinity post, it occurred to me that I might have a few brand affinities. I define brand affinity as any special connection to a line of products, and they tend to fall into two categories: first, there are brands that I seek out when buying a new widget (as in, "Need a new mouse, and my old Microsoft mouse was great..."); second, there are brands that I actively follow to see what new widgets I can buy (ahem, iPhone). I shamelessly buy new Apple stuff, I'm a longtime TiVo nerd (I'm on my third box), and I'm an inveterate Amazon shopper (I have the annual prepaid two-day shipping thing...). In fact, the longer I think about it, the more brands start to float to the surface: Nikon cameras, B&W speakers, Nivea skin care products, Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs...uh oh. Apparently I've signed on to a bunch of brands without even noticing it.

Commenters on Lyza's blog listed some more brands that I see in many of my friends' lives: Nintendo, LL Bean backpacks, All-Clad, Herman Miller, Burt's Bees, and so on. Brand affinities are everywhere, and they extend to art and entertainment -- I subscribe to several McSweeney's products, I watch everything the Coen Brothers make, and we've discussed authors I've "finished." So here's a discussion topic for today: what brand affinities do you have? Also: what little-known brands would you recommend?