re: Your top 5 pistol brands...

I’m not the experienced with different brands. So from what I know:

Canik

S&W (revolvers)

Taurus (I’ve had only good experience with their revolvers and the TX22)

Ruger (love my wrangler and LCR)

Glock bc the Glock20 is rad

ETA: Now I see that OP limited this to 9mm only. I like Caniks. 9mm doesn’t excite me.

Beretta is an automatic just cause of the 92.

Since OP calls for only 9mm:

Not necessarily in order:
Glock
SIG
H&K
Beretta
Shadow Systems

6. Tie between Canik and PSA Daggers

The mighty Mark 23 is chambered in 45 ACP sir.

Thread hijack

I see a lot of answers with Sig listed. What’s your preferred Sig model?

quote:

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Lost out to Sig for the new military contract and have steadily lost market share over last decade for law enforcement. That said, still great handguns. The Sig scored better for its modularity.

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Sig only won that because (like you said) modularity and also because they make the issued 124gr 9mm and cut the govt a discount. Plus it seems like the DOD has a hard-on for anything Sig. SOF operators use the Glock 19 still.

H&K
Glock
Kimber
Springfield
Sig

I've really thought long and hard about this for a couple of days.

This has been really well posed because of the strict stipulations:

1 - only our Top 5, and in no particular order
2 - pistols only
3 - brands, not models
4 - 9mm only

That really narrows it down right out of the chute. But, unlike Ford or Chevy, Ginger or Maryann, 45 ACP or 9mm .... there are choices from which to choose.

Let's break it down a bit and make it simpler ....

Sig Sauer
Canik
Smith & Wesson
Beretta
CZ
Glock (the original)
H&K
Colt (1911s predominantly 45 acp)
STI/Staccato (2011s, basically double-stacked 1911s that have been refined for speed and 9mm)
Shadow Systems (basically a high end Glock)
Walther
PSA Dagger (basically a Glock with improvements?
Ruger

So, given the OP's criteria that stipulated "brand" we must conclude that some are automatically disqualified from this particular pool because they are either clones or they offer only one particular model with various bells and whistles.

(Mind you Colt, Ruger and S&W offered revolvers that fire 9mm)

That leaves ...

Sig Sauer
Glock
Beretta
CZ
H&K
S&W
Walther
Canik
Ruger

All of the above brands offer mulitple models, completely different frames, that are original ... in 9mm.

Sig Sauer (rebranded SIG) has to be in the Top 5 by every metric. From name recognition to quality to innovation to sheer numbers sold. P210s, P220s, P225s, P226s, P320s, P236s, P365s, braced pistols MPX Copperhead, MCX Rattler and the list goes on and on .... SIG sets the standard.

That's an easy one.

Then there's Beretta. The oldest continuously operating company in the world ... and for good reason. Same deal as SIG. They have to be a Top 5 brand.

Glock .... no way can you leave Glock out of the "Top 5 brands" list. I don't like'em, they're all blocks to me but they're still a Top 5 brand, especially among the street thugs looking for a gat.

H&K .... let's just admit it, das Germans know how to make 9mm pistols. No one out engineers or out innovates H&K 9s.

Walther .... see above. And, technically,.380 is 9mm btw ... known throughout the rest of the world as 9mm Short or 9mm Kurz.

There's no other reasonable conclusion given the OP's criterion. "Brands" makes this undeniable. Had he not specified "brands" the Top 5 could go any number of ways.

There are a number of other fine brands not even mentioned in this thread.

CZ
Sig
Walther
Beretta
S&W