What are the best e-readers on the market?

I'm a lover of physical books but I'm looking to get an e-reader as well, for those books that are hard to find physical copies of, or are just very expensive.

I've ruled out Onyx, because I try to avoid Chinese tech as it's usually poorly made. But I'm not sure whether Kindle or Kobo is best. Is being tied to Amazon's ecosystem too restricting? Are the Kobo e-readers compatible with everything you need? Which ones have the best screens, ideally how a physical book would look?

So many questions, but hopefully some of you can help. 😁