The leading brands in the pre-finished solid hardwood flooring industry are Anderson Tuftex, Bruce, Carlisle, Homerwood, Kentwood, Lauzon, Mirage, Mohawk, Mullican, Shaw Floors, Somerset and Kentwood.

Zebra Wood This is probably the most expensive hardwood floors in the world. It is an exotic wood with an appearance that resembles the striping of a zebra. The zebra wood was a favorite choice among the rich – it was used inside luxury cars such as Mercedes Benz, but also in Prada's flagship store in Manhattan.

The hardest wood used for flooring is Ipe, also known as Lapacho, but it is very rare and expensive. The hardest wood commonly used for flooring is Hickory, which has a rating of 1820 on the Janka wood hardness chart.

Laminate flooring is constructed from thin, pressed wood board with a repeating printed image of wood fused onto a fiberboard core. One thing to note about laminate flooring is that it is not made from plastic but from a collection of wood fibers with a top layer of resin acting as a “wear layer”.