Piano
After literally months of procrastination and more visits to the store than even the most difficult customers, I finally bought the last thing I'm really missing from my apartment: a piano.

The unit I purchased is what I feel is the best electric piano Roland produces, the HP207. It has their best technology. The sound is, frankly, astonishing.

For the longest time, I really wanted a real acoustic piano. My thinking changed after the fourth-or-so visit to the shop, when I seriously started considering the higher end Rolands. The key is that this simulates not an upright piano, but a grand. And it really does. It even lets you tune settings like the angle of the lid and the length of the piano's body. The advantage of this unit over the ones that cost less is the excellent additional sound system right below the keyboard (near the player's knees), as well as a simulated ivory/wood finish to the keys. The advantage over the more expensive units, besides the price, is that the control panel actually makes sense and is a lot more friendly.

Roland samples their sounds from a real Steinway & Sons grand piano. Apparently, they don't interpolate, everything is sampled individually, and all harmonics, string, and damper side-effects are accounted for and adjustable! The key action simulates the weight and behaviour of a grand piano very convincingly, even the feel of the escapement as the key reaches the end of its run.

I spent an hour this evening playing on this instrument. Having grown up on mostly electric pianos, it revealed all of the same shortcomings I have when I play acoustic; too much pedaling, improper balance between the two hands, that sort of thing. The only thing missing on this unit compared to a real grand piano is the feel of the vibration of the key when you a deep note; it's there, but not as pronounced.

All in all, having tried twenty-or-so different pianos, this is the only one that fits just right. It's the balance of practicality and playability.