Have a Sony, new Lenovo and Macbook Pro. If you want reliability and stability go for a Macbook Pro if software permits. Otherwise I would still recommend the Lenovo, take one with high screen resolution. They are still reliable as hell and comfortable to work with. Airbag and automatic stop functionality for the hard-disk just to name one thing.
With due respect I differ in opinion based on not only my private laptops but also on the company's (that I worked for) collection of laptops. When I was there we found only the old IBM designed Lenovo's were of decent quality. IBM "over engineered" their machines, the Lenovo's are built to make a profit and it is noticeable corners are being cut. Perhaps not so visible to the ordinary guy in the street but to the super techies it is noticeable. (IBM never made a profit on their PC manufacturing - I never cared much for their desktops though but always regarded their T series as the top of the bunch). Airbag and automatic stop functionality is a thing of the past and no longer required - get a solid state "disk", no going back for me. Not to mention no background whine of the hard disk (although some of the Hitachi's are pretty quiet).
I have a IBM thinkpad for 11 year and I really loved it. So l bough another thinkpad last year. I love both. They are very sleak machines. Make sure you get a thinkpad, not an ideapad.
Toshiba makes the most reliable laptops. Go for the high end for power & performance - 4 years running a Satellite and no probs - faster than most desktops