There are three types of mowers you may want to consider: gas, electric, and reel.
Here are some popular options you may want.
One option you may want is a rear wheel self propel feature. It is generally maybe $30-$50 more than a front wheel self propel, but after reading consumer reviews, most people with front wheel drive mowers said they would not recommend front wheel drive to someone else. I feel the same way. I use the self propel when the mower is hard to push, and rear wheel drive is much more effective at pushing the mower when the going is tough because most of the weight is on the rear wheels so they actually grip when the front wheels would slip.
Another nice option is a wash out port. This allows you to attach a water hose to your lawnmower and run the mower. The water and spinning blade then wash out any residual grass inside the mower and keep it clean.
A bagging option can be nice. Bagging looks nice, but requires more work and a lot of paper compost bags. Dead grass trimmings, as long as they are not in clumps, turn into soil and are a free fertilizer. Clumps of grass can prevent the sun from reaching the grass underneath them and kill that grass. Clumping tends to happen if you mow damp grass.
A mower rated highly at mulching will cut the grass into small enough pieces so you don't need to bag it. The grass can't be too long though and you may not be able to go super fast with the mower.
Also read reviews. Some mowers leave clumps of grass worse than other mowers. Some are hard to maneuver.
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Gas Mowers
You can always pick a used basic model up pretty cheap. You may need to buy a circular grinder to attach to a drill to sharpen the blade, something that you have to do every year anyway for about 10 minutes, or pay someone $25 to do it for you. But you don't know the quality of the cut without looking up reviews of that model. Generally speaking, Honda, Toro, John Deere, and Lawn-Boy are the highest rated brands. Husquivarna from Sears isn't bad either. Just make sure the used model has the features you'd like.
While I could list a few $200-$280 push mowers with no special features, many do not cut as well, are hard to push, and/or may not bag or mulch very well. Mowers with push assist can be used by people who aren't very strong. Having one with a good cut and features you can choose to use is nice.
This is one of the better rear wheel mowers under $400 with several nice features.
- Troy-Bilt TB-320 12AVC35U $330
- It comes with a wash out port, rear wheel drive, multiple speeds, and consumer reports rated it "very good" in every category they tested. It looks like a good one to me.
You should be able to find this one at the Lowe's by your home.
Walmart has some basic non bagged gas lawnmowers for about $150, a bagged one at $199, but those would be hard to push. They have a front wheel self propel without a bag for $238, and front wheel drive with a bag at $298. These haven't been rated by Consumer Reports and may not last as long as the Troy. I have had wheels break off of cheaper lawnmowers.
Electric Mowers
Electric lawn mowers get about 30-55 minutes of mowing per charge. That may be enough time to mow your lawn, but if that isn't, you may have to spend one day mowing most of your lawn, recharge it overnight, and finish it the next day. I don't remember how much grass you had. I read they can mow about 1/3 of an acre.
People recommend against corded electric mowers because most people tend to run over the extension cable every month or so and it is annoying when going around obstacles. So battery powered electric ones are generally recommended. It may work for you since you don't have a lot of obstructions though.
Pros: Electric lawn mowers have lower maintenance and fuel cost at about $5 of electricity a summer. There are no spark plugs to buy, oil changes to do, or gas to buy. Quieter. Much less expensive to operate and maintain.
Cons: 30-55 minute run time. Not as powerful. Consumer reports only recommended one electric lawnmower, possibly meaning most other electric ones are not very good performers.
Here is an interesting page that shows that maintaining a gas mower will cost about $400 over 5 years, but maintenance on an electric mower will only cost about $100, making the electric mower the better buy cost-wise compared to a gas mower, though you do sacrifice power and run time. http://www.mowersdirect.com/stories/54-How-to-Pick-the-Perfect-Electric-Lawn-Mower.html
One electric mower that did get good reviews was the $399 Black and Decker with self propel, something good because they are kind of heavy with the big battery.
BLACK & DECKER 36-Volt 19-in Cordless Electric Self-Propelled Push Lawn MowerItem #: 225855 | Model #: SPCM1936
You can also find this at the Lowes by your home.
Reel Mowers
The cheapest and most environmentally friendly lawn mowers are the old fashioned Reel style push mowers. http://www.mowersdirect.com/stories/55-How-to-Pick-the-Perfect-Reel-Lawn-Mower.html
These are a workout to push because they have no engine, but are super low maintenance. You just have to sharpen the blades once a year, like any lawnmower, but there are more blades to sharpen. Mowing your lawn would be a workout though.
These can be found at Walmart and www.Walmart.com online starting at $69.
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Generally speaking, Sears' lawn mowers were overpriced online and Lowe's had the models Consumer Reports talked about. I didn't see any sales going on right now at Lowe's, but you can ask.
Walmart has some inexpensive models, but none made the Consumer Reports recommended list.
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Leaf blowers
Get one with a metal impeller. It chops leaves better than nylon ones.
Consumer reports recommends a leaf blower one with a metal impeller, as opposed to a nylon one, that can chop the leaves and that does both leaf blowing and vacuuming.
For an electric leaf blower/vacuum, Consumer Reports recommends the Toro 51592. http://www.amazon.com/patio-lawn-garden/dp/B000O27BM4 It is the second highest scoring one on CM, the top scoring one got more negative reviews.
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If you want to go electric, which probably makes sense for a smaller yard without a lot of concrete, an electric edger, like the one you showed me, or a string trimmer like the $73 Greenworks 21142 would be good buys.
String trimmers can do more things, like trimming the grass your lawn mower misses around the sides of your house and around trees in addition to acting like an edger when you rotate it so the strings spin vertically instead of horizontally. In my experience, an edger is more consistent for edging the grass next to concrete, it can look a little better, and it is pretty easy to use because you just push it, though with some practice, you can get good results with a string trimmer and do more things with it, though it takes a little more effort to do edging because you have to hold it in a straight line and walk, which isn't a huge deal after you do it a few times.
Consumer Reports recommends a straight shaft string trimmer to a curved one for better detail work.
Most edgers use a metal blade whereas string trimmers use a nylon string.
Consumer reports didn't have anything on edgers. I would use an edger maybe once every two to three months for a nice clean look, and use the string trimmer/Weed Eater to once a month to get high grass and maintain any edging that had become slightly overgrown.
