I use business laptops like lenovo thinkpads and the likes of HP and Dell make good ones too. They tend to be easier to upgrade and are substantially better built than consumer laptops. Also the keyboards are pretty terrible on most consumer laptops and I type a lot. One of my current pcs at home is a 7 year old thinkpad T540 which I bought second hand and upgraded a bit with an SSD and more memory, it still works great for all manor of things such as photo editing, huge spreadsheets etc . Just not for gaming though.
Most big businesses will cycle through their laptops every three years so normally they are great value second hand, better built and often just as fast as a new consumer one, but I presume the covid and work from home factor jacked prices right up in the US as it did in the uk. I would look at current prices for a second hand T480 and compare it to buying a new laptop or equivalent priced chromebook. Definately do your homework before going this route, as many businesses buy laptops with poor screens which can be annoying . There is a very good thinkpad sub reddit that has a buying and upgrading guide.
