Best and worst places to buy your next pair of glasses

For the uninitiated, buying glasses can be an eye-opening (and wallet-opening) experience. Choose designer frames, ultra-thin lenses, progressive lenses and lens coatings and it's easy to drop over $400 for the pair. Bad service and poor quality would make the experience even more painful.

Such pain is not necessary, however, if you make a good choice on where to shop. In its December issue, Consumer Reports (subscription required) reports on its survey of more than 30,000 readers about their experiences with the nation's largest optical companies, based on quality, frame selection, fitting, expertise, price, speed and follow-up service.