"what rice cooker should I buy" returns a pretty in depth article on bonappetit.com and reddit as the top results, both recommending Zojirushi
But bonappetit.com is exactly an example of affiliate link spam. Even their budget option is awful.
Until then, my Zojirushi is very simple to clean.
Expensive sure, but it's only difficult to clean if you're a double amputee.
There are other good rice cookers like Cuckoo, and cheaper options like Tiger or Tatung, or really budget options like Aroma, but you pretty much can’t go wrong with Zojirushi if you can afford it.
This is a case of HN cynicism and contrarianism working against oneself.