Okay, there are a couple of reasons and excuses that people come up with renting a router from a cable company, but after a year, you'd be paying for a reasonably great router that you could have owned. You might be able to return it whenever it goes bad but that's a rarity. In fact, I still have one of the original 802.11b routers from 2000 that I used alongside my Ti PowerBook G4 Gigabit Ethernet. So back to the topic at hand. Once again, I'd have to recommend Apple's Airport Express for those that want something easy and sweet. The setup is a dream, the wireless printing options and AirPlay option make it an easy go to for those invest within the Apple ecosystem. If you feel like stepping it up a bit more for Time Capsule / backup capability, the Airport Extreme is another good best. Just my two cents.

If you're the type to nerd out, install DD-WRT or other choice firmwares and tweak the router out to its max performance, the world is your oyster. The Wirecutter recommends the ASUS RT-66u but it currently on a hold due to the onslaught of 802.11ac routers flooding the market. The price will eventually come down too so hold up a bit if you're looking to pull the trigger.

I ended up Kickstarting one bad ass router and can't wait to get my hands on it. It's called the Almond+ 802.11ac by Securifi who also hold the #1 spot on Amazon for their Almond.