I had a mid '70's staggered wheel, magnesium deck 19" Lawnboy, that was without a doubt the best lawnmower I ever had. I used it to mow mow many lawns to make money in the beginning, and had it thru buying my first house. It was light, maneuverable and quite powerful. I laugh every time I think about it, the only problem I ever had, was when I decided to use Amsoil in it. I liked the 100:1 mix ration idea, trouble is my math was off just a bit and I used something like 200:1. It mowed for a short time, and then would ... wop, wop, wop and quit. Let it cool and restart, and the same thing. I'm thinking this Amsoil is junk, so I go back to Lawnboy oil and all is well, no damage when I checked the cylinder and piston. A few months later I'm cleaning the garage out and go to toss the Amsoil, and while working did the calculation in my head and realized my mistake, dah!. Oh well, I still tossed the Amsoil and went on using Lawnboy oil and shortly after buying the second house, sold the mower, still running fine. I wish I'd kept it, but I don't actually even need a push mower any more, even though I do use one now to keep the tractor off the front lawn.
I now have a Troy-Bilt self propelled variable speed mower that I really like. Very sturdy built and mows like a champ. I also have a backup Craftsman/Tecumseh self propelled mower that is quite possibly the best self propelled mower I've ever used. It does everything well, bags, mulches, and mows better than anything I've ever used. The TB is a close second though. I think the new TB and Husqvarna mowers are looking like great mowers. I'd love to try one of the all wheel drive Husqy's.