Top 10 vintage cassette decks

Big recommendation for Onkyo 2600 or 2800.  I bought a 2600 new in 1989, and it still works fine.  Lots of useful features, three heads.  They come up on eBay occasionally.

I suspect the OP is looking to make his rig look a bit more sexy by adding a couple of nice looking decks. I owned the Luxman 5K50 cassette deck. It didn't spec out as high as the latter decks but man was it a nice looking deck! I would avoid it as repairs are probably a nightmare. It weighed a ton as well. The Tascams are what you're looking for I think. Nice looking VU meters and repairable. Keep an eye on your local thrift shops. It happens that one could show up. Even Craigslist. Look for classic mistakes people make when advertising such as not listing the model number. Good luck. Joe

I purchased new and still have the lowly Nachamichi 480.  It was still working years ago, but is it really worth a rebuild?  With modern streaming and records, why spend money on this medium?  I'm asking because I know that those on this thread find value in cassette tape.

Nakamichis were clearly overall the best performing decks, but not all that reliable, Same for the Tandbergs. Great when they worked. The Japanese decks with solenoid controls overall were as reliable as they got, but tended to be a little noisy electronically. The JVC were sleepers, extremely reliable and quiet and the HK 300 & 400 (3-head) were another. Mine never gave me any issues.