I have a Sony Vaio (VGN-FE31M) and I'm really happy with it. It's about 1 1/2 years old now and I've never experienced any trouble with the laptop, but the power adapter thingy broke after about a year. I'm currently using a replacement which I bought on ebay, it's not from Sony (b/c those cost about 120 Euro) but works perfectly.
The battery doesn't seem to be the best, but it's probably my fault (I charge it all the time, because I'm afraid my power adapter thingy will break again).