[MRM]

Andersen and Marvin are close to equal and are probably the best nationally available brands. Andersen's mainline product is a vinyl clad wood window. They bought Silverline a few years ago to add a vinyl product to their line and they bought Eagle to add an aluminum product. They invented a composite material they call Fibrex and use it in their A Series window, so they now have a product in every category. They sell varying grades of each type. I can't remember which one it is but one of the vinyl windows sold at Home Depot is a rebranded Silverline/Andersen window. Andersen is primarily a new construction product. Their replacement-only product is Renewal by Andersen. They do the installation and sell you the product all together. It's a very nice product but expensive. Andersen's wood windows only come in standard sizes. If they fit your openings you can use them for replacement, not problem. If they aren't the right size, you have to use something else. The durability of a window that's built to a standard size is very good because the manufacturing process is fully automated and the tolerances are fine. Andersen's vinyl, aluminum and fibrex products can be ordered custom sized. Eagle is considered one of Andersen's premier brands. I once worked on a $42 million mansion on Palm Beach Island that had all Eagle windows and French doors. They were replaced with a solid mahogany window from Germany called Tischler.

Marvin has all that and fiberglass products too. Their market niche is that all of their product is custom built so they can fit any opening. That's why you'll see a lot of Marvin used in remodeling projects. I'm not as familiar with their product as I am with Andersen, but the quality is equal. Andersen has a nailing flange that is fully integrated into the vinyl cladding and is a lot easier to install and is very robust. Marvin has miter corners that needs a flashing strip to prevent water entry. Not a big deal, just a little difference in the design.

Pella has a strong brand but they aren't the quality of Marvin or Andersen and they cost about the same. Kolbe & Kolbe have improved in past years, but they're a notch below, along with brands like Windsor. Crestline is a lower tier brand. Jeld-Wen competes with Marvin and Andersen but I like Andersen and Marvin better.

Go to any decent sized distributor before you hire a contractor and you'll get the best price and they'll lay out all the options for you. I suspect what would be cheapest and would still look nice is a custom sized vinyl window with as much glass and as little frame as possible. They can cut the old windows out and install the replacement one directly to the existing framing without disturbing the brick. The interior trim just pops off and will go right back into place.