Best blender for smoothies?

Vitamix for sure! It's a little pricey but it's amazing and you won't regret it!

I recommend the vitamix too blends everything really fast at commercial quality, there's a good site that goes over all the best blender for smoothies at http://www.thebestblenderforsmoothies.net

Vitamix!

On the more affordable side, I use a Black & Decker Crush Master. It makes very silky smoothies with no chunks. Stuff it full of fresh spinach, berries,ice, some almond milk and blend away for about 1 minute. I think it cost less than $35.00. It even crushes ice cubes. I wanted a vitamix, but couldn't afford the $400.00.

Vitamix! Best purchase ever!!

My el cheapo Hamilton Beach works fine and I've found it's more technique than anything else. What I've found works the best -

Get the protein powder, liquid and any non-ice (read as frozen fruits) blended. Add the ice SLOWLY, wait until what you've added is thoroughly chopped before adding more. It helps if you get crushed ice out of the ice maker, but that's not entirely necessary. One or two cubes at a time works fine and BE PATIENT. If you over load with too much ice at one time it will over-thicken and not circulate right.

Experiment a little bit before you go dropping any money on a new blender. You may find what you have works fine, you just need to alter how you do it, not what you use.

I've had many blenders over the years, including Cuisinart (leaves pieces of food and ice), Ninja (leaves pieces of leaf veggies like spinach and kale), Blendec (was ok, but started smoking after 2 weeks when I tried to make hummus, so it went back). And then I got the Vitamix - hands down the best thing out there. Granted, the $500 price tag is hard to swallow. But, 7 year all inclusive warranty, including the shipping if you have to return something, not to mention all that it can handle, was worth it to me.

The Vitamix obliterates everything. I throw whole flax seeds and whole raw almonds in with my fruit/vegs, and you can't even find a speck of brown when it's done. Amazing.

For something less expensive for smoothies only, I have heard that the Nutribullet is really good. Bed Bath and Beyond has it for $100 - using the 20% off coupon brings it down to $80. They have an awesome return policy, so you can try it out and see if you like it.

Another vote for the Ninja! I had a Blendtec and sent it back. It really was no improvement for smoothies over the Ninja for a fraction of the price. I used a magic bullet for years but I think the Ninja is better. I use the smallest container for smoothies and it's perfect for a 16 oz glass.

what is the best blender for crushing ice for smoothies? I am trying to make a chocolate protein smoothie with cocoa powder and peanut butter that my old gym made. I bought a Ninja professional blender that is supposed to make "snow" from ice but it doesn't live up to the promise because it leaves chunks and doesn't blend well.

Also, try PB2 instead of regular peanut butter and it wont be so thick but tastes just as great!(if not better!!!)

I own the Ninja and love it. I got the one with the large blending glass pitcher and the two individual blending cups with lids to drink from. It has interchangeable paddles one to whip with and one for dough. I love that it has three levels of blades so it pulverizes everything in it. I put fruit with the skin on in it and you would never know it it's so smooth in the end. I had an old oster that I only paid about 30 bucks for and you couldn't mix anything with that…complete waste of money!!