KitchenAid mixers are, by far, the best on the market, and have been for years.  My mother just replaced hers, and she's had it since the 1970's at least.  They are durable, hard-working, easy to care for, and yes they are bulky and big, but I like that since that provides stability and large capacity.

There are a lot of attachments you can get, beyond the three basic paddles.  I love the cheese grater attachment because I hate grating it by hand.  I also want to try the ice cream maker attachment!

My biggest recommendation when buying a Kitchenaid mixer is to fork over the extra money to get...