To me, someone who celebrates a bit more of the spectrum than most: Metal hot. Make food hot.
Non-stick means easier cleanup, but my wife seems to think cast-iron is necessary for certain things (searing a prime rib roast, for example.).
After I figure those out, then I gotta figure out gas vs. electric vs. induction vs infrared…


As someone who learned way more about pans than I really want to know, let me say that a good cook can make good food in any pan, however some pans are more suited to tasks than others.
First off, searing meat in a non-stick pan (traditionally Teflon) is a bad idea, the pan can reach temperatures that produce toxic gases, and are known to kill birds that are more sensitive to them than we are. The coating that makes them nonstick isn’t very durable and will at most last a few years before being useless. While other kinds of pans are likely to outlive you.
Other common pans include cast iron, stainless steel, carbon steel, and ceramic non-stick (non-toxic, but are delicate)
Specifically for searing meets, my favorite is stainless steel. It holds heat similar to cast iron, but is slightly more conductive and can transfer a lot of heat to sear meat. Meat also literally bonds to pan and can be used to make great flavorful sauces with deglazing. Cleanup is easy, if anything is really stuck just boil water in it to loosen. Alternatively stainless steel holds up decent in a dishwasher. Cleanup can’t be easier than automatic. However, stainless steel is still quite heavy.
For general purpose cooking my personal favorite is carbon steel. It’s seasoned like cast iron and can be quite nonstick, but is much lighter making it feel very similar to nonstick pans, which are made with aluminum.
I won’t lie, seasoning has a learning curve. Seasoning is very tough under some circumstances, and very delicate under others. Notably acid will eat the seasoning away.
Cast iron is great, but it is so heavy that it is inconvenient to use.
All will work with induction, except for cheap aluminum nonstick pans
Got a cast iron pot for the first time a few months ago gifted to me. The heaviness really is a thing.
Popcorn is very hard to do, because it’s so heavy to keep the pot moving the whole time (don’t know another technique to make popcorn in a normal pot).
Draining pasta water without a colander is near impossible. Yes, just use a colander. But it takes away the flexibility of a light-weight pot, where you can absolutely get by without one, just making pasta meals.
Taking it out and putting it away is actually not that easy.
My 5 cents of living with cast iron pot.