I am glad you are going to grow a garden, Lindsay. I love seeing everything growing and harvesting fresh veggies. We have a Troy rear tine. We bought it about 12 years ago and spent $2000 for it then. I about passed out on that purchase, but we used tax refund money. Kevin had wanted one for a long time. It does an amazing job. Kevin tilled the whole garden area last fall. Today, he went out and made one pass. It was like velvet. I do prefer the rear tine tillers. We also have a front tine tiller and a little Mantis. You might say we are tiller poor. LOL Anyway, I think the rear tine tillers do a better job. Don't know anything about any other brands, just Troy. Our front tine is a a cheapie Walmart tiller that Kevin hates. I rolled it end over end the very first time I tried to take it down the hill to our garden. It started bouncing and got away from me. I stood with my mouth open for a second, then ran to the bottom of the hill to rescue it. LOL It didn't hurt it any, but Kevin still says he hates it. LOL
Good luck.
Blessings,
Winona