To help you find the best entertainment centers your money can buy, we purchased 20 different models and spent more than 15 hours assembling them and using them with our own TVs and media players. During our testing, we measured each unit’s ability to hold televisions with stability and still have room to store media players, movies, and more. We also tested each unit based on its overall durability and design, ensuring each option offered style and long-lasting usability. Looking for other gadgets to add to your entertainment center? Check our best TV accessories guide.
After our testing, we picked the WE Furniture Minimal Farmhouse Wood entertainment center as the best entertainment center you can buy today. It offers an impressively large weight capacity and simple, sleek design that’s sure to tie any room together. Keep reading below to learn more about the WE Furniture TV stand and other high-quality entertainment centers.
Top 7 Best Entertainment Centers
#1 WE Furniture Minimal Farmhouse Wood Entertainment Center
Award: TOP PICK
WHY WE LIKE IT: This is a simple, yet heavy-duty entertainment center with a high weight capacity, 250 lb, and a built-in cable management system. It can also fit TVs up to 64 inches for greater versatility.
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- High weight capacity, up to 250 lb
- Built-in cable management system
- The simple, sleek design suits most living areas
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- No cabinet storage
- Took a while to assemble
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The WE Furniture Minimal Farmhouse Wood entertainment center is sleek and attractive, offering a simple design that functions well overall. It’s made from strong and sturdy MDF wood that can hold up to 250 pounds of total weight, making it one of the more durable options you can buy today. The WE entertainment center measures in at 58 inches long and 24 inches high with a depth of 16 inches. This size gives it enough space to hold televisions up to 64 inches, making it incredibly versatile.
This entertainment center is also designed well. It doesn’t feature any cabinet options, but the four open shelves are completely adjustable so you can arrange them to fit your specific entertainment equipment. The back of the WE also features four large holes for more comprehensive and efficient cable or cord management, which is a nice plus. We were also pleased to find that the WE comes in a variety of different colors so you can purchase an option that will match your room’s design. If you’d rather mount your TV, take a look at our guide to the best TV wall mount.
#2 Simpli Home Artisan Solid Wood Entertainment Center
Award: HONORABLE MENTION
WHY WE LIKE IT: This beautifully designed entertainment center is large enough for even the biggest and heaviest TVs without sacrificing functionality or versatility. Besides the flat tabletop for TVs, this unit features drawers, cabinets and shelves for storage.
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- Handcrafted with protective lacquer
- Drawer, cabinet and shelf storage
- Solid wood construction and 250 lb weight capacity
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- On the heavier side, at over 100 lb
- Assembly can be time-consuming
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The Simpli Home Artisan Solid Wood entertainment center is one of the most well-designed units available today. It’s made out of solid pine wood and features antique bronze hardware for a classier overall look. However, the build feature that impressed us the most was the hand-finished stain and extra-durable NC lacquer topcoat that keeps the unit protected against scratching and scuffing.
On top of the Simpli’s attractive design, it is also functional and versatile. You get two open shelves, two drawers, and four cabinets for comprehensive storage that can hold all of your media and entertainment gear. Be aware that you will need to assemble this entertainment center yourself after it’s shipped to your home. During our testing, we encountered some difficulty in the form of missing pre-drilled holes, but with patience and time, you will be able to complete the process successfully. This entertainment center will have enough room for the best TV accessories. Do you want to record your TV shows so that you can binge-watch over the weekend? Get the best DVD recorder.
#3 Sekey Home Entertainment Center
Award: BEST CLASSIC DESIGN
WHY WE LIKE IT: Durable engineered wood, laminate and metal accents come together to create this sturdy and sleek piece of furniture for your TV and media center needs. It’s also got versatile storage options, including adjustable shelf storage.
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- Open design for better device ventilation
- Durable laminate and metal accents
- Adjustable shelf storage
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- Assembly can be time-consuming
- Lower weight capacity, at just 70 lb
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The Sekey Home entertainment center measures in at 58 inches long, making it perfect for holding televisions up to 60 inches large. The TV console also features plenty of storage space in the form of cabinets and shelving. The design of the upper storage shelves allow for excellent ventilation for your media devices like Blu-ray players or gaming consoles so they don’t overheat during use.
This entertainment center is also designed to offer a good variety of other storage options. For starters, you have two separate cabinets on either side of the unit that you can use with or without the shelves. You also get additional shelf storage between these two cabinets. Each row of shelves includes cable management holes on the back of the unit so you can use any of these areas for media devices. The Sekey’s overall build quality is sturdy and durable, as well, featuring MDF wood and accents made from laminate and metal for added durability. However, you should be aware that the Sekey can only hold up to 70 pounds. Keep that in mind as you’re considering which TV to place on top of it. Or you could go with one of the best TV stands instead. Do you want to easily connect a display to your computer? One of the best gadgets to get is the USB to HDMI adapter.
#4 Furinno Jaya Large Entertainment Center
Award: BEST ON A BUDGET
WHY WE LIKE IT: This black TV stand offers a compact and lightweight design, making it perfect for rooms that don’t have as much space. It comes in at a budget-friendly price point and is easy to assemble.
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- Compact size perfect for smaller spaces
- Rounded corners reduce foot injuries
- Easy assembly
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- Not a lot of storage space
- Weight capacity just 50 lb
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If you’re limited on your budget, then the Furinno Jaya entertainment center is the perfect choice for you. It’s one of the most affordable TV stands available today while still offering a high level of quality and versatility. Measuring in at just 50 inches wide, it’s also a smaller option that can fit easily into tight spaces. In spite of the smaller size, you can still fit a TV as large as 55 inches on top of the unit.
We were impressed with the overall design of the Furinno entertainment center, even in spite of some of the sacrifices it needs to make in order to achieve its budget pricing. It looks great in a room and will complement your existing decor and furniture. The best part about this center’s design, though, is its rounded corners, which prevent injuries to your feet and toes if you were ever to accidentally bump into it. Like most TV stands, the Furinno offers a variety of storage options for both media devices and other items like remote controls, movies or books. However, due to its compact size, storage space is more limited here. If you have a large movie collection, you may need to store it elsewhere in your home. This will still have room for any of the best OLED tvs.
#5 IWELL Mid-Century Modern Entertainment Center
Award: BEST COMPACT
WHY WE LIKE IT: This entertainment center offers a beautiful, modern design in a compact package that’s sure to impress any who sees it in your living room. It’s also sturdy enough to hold large flat-screen televisions and provides additional storage for movies, devices and more.
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- Attractive wood appearance
- 110-lb weight capacity
- Legs include floor protection
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- Not as durable as other models
- Limited storage space
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The IWELL Mid-Century Modern entertainment center is the most compact option on our list. It’s only 47 inches long, 19 inches high and 15 inches deep. This makes it the perfect TV stand for smaller living spaces like apartments. Fortunately, the more compact design doesn’t necessarily mean you lose out on versatility. The IWELL can fit TVs up to 55 inches in size and it boasts a total weight capacity of an impressive 150 pounds. We were even able to fit a 60-inch TV on the IWELL, but it extended past the ends of the entertainment center.
As the IWELL’s name states, it features a modern, mid-century design that will most likely coordinate with the furniture and decor you already have in place. The five legs improve the look of the design, but they also add an additional level of stability. The IWELL also features a particleboard design that resembles wood with no visible metal. Even the handles are wooden to complete the look. This TV stand features a large central shelving storage space with cable management holes in the back, along with two separate cabinets for additional storage. This isn’t as much storage as other options provide, but it should be plenty for your gaming console, media player and some movies. If you want to decorate your living room too, read our review of the best drop leaf table.
#6 Modern Craftsman Distressed Oak 3-Piece Entertainment Center
Award: BEST QUALITY
WHY WE LIKE IT: Three separate pieces, high-quality materials and tons of storage space are three of the main features you’ll find with this entertainment center. If you’re looking for style, stability, and plenty of storage, you can’t go wrong with this option.
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- 4 storage drawers and 6 fixed shelves
- Incredibly durable materials, such as poplar
- Distressed oak finish and metal accents are attractive
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- Relatively heavy, at 58 lb
- Assembly requires 2 people
- No cabinet storage
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The Modern Craftsman Distressed Oak entertainment center is by far one of the most well-designed options you can buy today. As its name states, the center is made from distressed oak and poplar wood, which really give the entertainment center wall unit a refined and classy look. The accents are all made from sturdy brown metal to polish the overall look. These high-quality materials make for an extremely sturdy and stable unit, no matter what you put on it. We recommend only using the stand with TVs no larger than 55 inches, though.
When it comes to assembly, be prepared to put in some extra work. We recommend recruiting a second person and using a drill to make things move as smoothly as possible. There’s no doubt about it, the Modern Craftsman is one of the heaviest options on our list, which can complicate assembly if you don’t have an extra set of hands. On the plus side, though, the weight only increases stability and durability. Once assembled, you’ll notice that this 3-piece entertainment center has tons of storage. It comes mostly in the form of shelves, but you also get four drawers to keep smaller items stowed. This is plenty of room to store pretty much anything you need on the unit, including decor items. If you need an extra place to store your decor, try our guide to the best accent table.
#7 Sauder Edge Water Entertainment Center
Award: BEST FOR GAMING
WHY WE LIKE IT: With adjustable shelves, a unique cable management system and simple overall design, this entertainment center is perfect for gamers and movie lovers alike.
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- Excellent built-in cable management system
- All shelves are adjustable
- Simple, clean design to suit a variety of aesthetics
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- Can only accommodate TVs up to 55”
- Heavy at 113 pounds
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The Sauder Edge Water entertainment center offers a subtle, yet attractive design that will fit easily into any home or room. Its neutral chestnut finish is sure to match any color scheme in your home and the dark metal hardware polishes off the look. In spite of the overall simple design, you still get a lot of versatility with the Sauder. It offers tons of storage space in the form of shelves and cabinets. The cabinet doors are made from durable glass and give you the option of knowing exactly where everything is at.
This option is the best entertainment center for gaming due to its large top surface for 55-inch televisions and a unique cable management system. The back of the unit features perforated areas that can be easily punched out to accommodate multiple gaming consoles and the top of the unit features a plastic hole cover that keeps your cables in place without tangling. The shelves are also the perfect size for video game and movie cases. When it comes to assembling the Sauder Edge Water media stand, you may find that the instructions are harder to read than others, which can increase the time it takes for you to fully assemble it. However, once assembled, the unit is sturdy and durable.
How We Decided
Modern entertainment centers are often large enough that they’re the first thing anyone sees when walking into the living room. This is why we weighted options based on their design quality and attractiveness.
However, on top of visual design quality, the best entertainment centers are designed in a way to hold a variety of TV sizes and provide you with a ton of storage for your home decor, movies, books, video games and media devices. We scored options better if they included different storage options that could easily hold items of different sizes.
We also measured each entertainment center based on its overall durability and weight capacity. While newer TVs aren’t as heavy as they used to be, they can still get pretty bulky as they get larger in size. This is why it’s so important to purchase a TV stand that is built sturdily enough to hold large TVs. Our picks can hold at least 55-inch TVs, but we awarded bonus points for those that had the weight capacity and size to hold larger televisions.
Finally, we measured each entertainment center based on the materials out of which it’s made. The best entertainment centers are built from durable materials that will last for a long time and will resist scratching and denting. We ranked entertainment centers higher if they featured solid wood construction and metal hardware.
Best Entertainment Center Buyer’s Guide
The Most Important Features to Consider
- Type of Entertainment Center
When it comes to different types of entertainment centers, you have three options from which to choose:- Wall Units – These are what most people think of when they hear the words entertainment center. They’re larger than all other options and typically feature a wide variety of shelves, drawers, and cabinets to house your TV, gaming consoles, Blu-ray or DVD players and movies. Wall units are typically more expensive than other types, but the added versatility and storage space is often worth the price.
- TV Stands – These entertainment centers are simple, one-piece units that feature a flat, top surface on which to place your television and some additional storage below. This additional storage can come in the form of shelves and/or cabinets.
- Media Cabinets – These units are often smaller than other options and are usually configured with a vertical design. Storage for media cabinets usually comes in the form of shelving but some include a drawer or two.
- Floating – A floating entertainment center mounts directly to your wall instead of sitting on the ground. It’s one of the more recent entertainment center ideas in today’s decorating world, and it can add a refined, chic look to your room.
- Size
Finding the right size for your entertainment center requires consideration in two different areas: TV size and room size. First, measure the size of your television’s frame and depth, not its display size. A 65-inch TV isn’t necessarily 65 inches wide. Take a measuring tape and measure both the width and height of your television to ensure you purchase an entertainment center that is big enough to fit it. Don’t forget to measure the depth of your TV. We recommend allowing for a few inches of wiggle room in all directions to ensure you have enough space for cables or other equipment. Next, consider the size of your room. While entertainment centers are certainly statement pieces, you don’t want it to take up all of the free space in your living room. Viewing distance should also be a consideration. Measure the space in which you want to place your entertainment center in relation to the size of the product you want to purchase to make sure you have good sightlines to your TV, an appropriate viewing distance, and enough room to walk around without bumping into furniture. - Quality and Durability
Finally, you should only consider an entertainment center that is built well and will last you a long time. Units made from solid wood (aka a solid wood tv stand) tend to be the longest-lasting, but you’ll also need to consider the durability of shelves and drawers. If the entertainment center you want to purchase features any glass, it should be secure and scratch-resistant. As a note, you may be tempted to purchase a less expensive make for its affordability and ease of assembly. However, these tend not to be as durable as other options, so keep that in mind before making your purchase.
