I haven't used a teflon pan in years. My best experiences come from enameled or stainless pans used correctly. I've never tried a carbon. I have had good luck with cast iron too.

FWIW, I bought this one 3 years ago and it's still holding up great! Just check out the reviews.

I paid $22 back then. Now it's up to $37!

Tramontina 80114/535DS Professional Aluminum Nonstick Restaurant Fry Pan, 10", NSF-Certified

I also bought the 12" version.

On the contrary, it'll help prevent iron deficiency anemia.

I use a combination of Lodge carbon steel pans and skillet, one old school iron dutch oven and stainless pots, original PYREX borosilicate baking dishes.

Everything is easy to clean, just season the iron and carbon. A bit heavy but kitchen weaponry should last.

I've got a pan that is a Chef Inox. It's not stainless steel - a magnet sticks to it. But that's about all. It was a bit pricey and bought from a shop that sells chef's stuff. But it's really good. It's a sort of grey steel that doesn't rust. I did all that heat treating with rice bran oil and when I clean it I just rinse it then wipe it down while still a bit oily with a paper towel. Strangely nothing seems to really stick to it.

For nonstick we go with the cheapest available induction-capable from a restaurant supply or webstaurant.com. Maybe $40 for a 8" that will last two or three years. Half that price if you don't need induction. Avoiding overheating and limiting their use to delicate/sticky things like eggs, I'm not worried about toxicity. The dose makes the poison.

As much as I love grandma's 90yo cast iron, and the smaller 25yo Lodge one I bought in college, it's carbon steel (DeBuyer or generic, can't tell the difference) and AllClad SST for us.

Discovering "industrial" cookware was a revelation. Those fancy mall kitchen shops will never see us again. Now 8y into the parenting thing we've got stacks of aluminum sheet pans - eighths and quarters are so useful for containing beads, Lego, paint overflow, magic-sand and whatever else the little destroyer-of-worlds can throw around. They're all like $5-8 each.

the 1/8 sheet pan was a game changer for me. i am shocked how useful it is. now i dont use a plate to salt steaks, etc. and i have a constant landing spot for a saucy spoon after i stir something. they were $4 here..i bought 3 of them.

Maybe correct answer comes from asking the inverse: what is the most toxic nonstick pan that is sold in the usa?

I except there's some doozys but most fall in the long tail of 'safe'.

I assume any pan with a teflon (or similar) coating. Most people overheat that sort of pan, and then the coating ends up in the food. I assume a second worst would be any Al pan that had the aluminum close enough to the cooking surface to end up in the food (maybe after a coating is peeling, scratched, etc...)

And yes, there's probably hundreds.

Bought my wife a half sized industrial weight sheet pan several years back. We both loved it so much we now have two 1/4 sized pans as well. Nothing fancy, just a somewhat deep sided heavy-ish aluminum pan. As Vash says these things are insanely useful in so many ways.