I'm far from expert but like the LaCrosse Technology BC-900, if you keep your eye on Amazon it usually drops down in price to $30-35 or so. 4xAA/AAAs, LCD readout for charging status of each battery, good consistent performance. I like that you can mix NiCD, NiMH, Eneloop, etc etc, my son can barely tell an alkaline from a rechargeable, and I'd rather not toast another $45 charger. Its fairly bullet proof, and you can program it for all sorts of modes if you want them. I can't say whether it will work off of solar, I need to try that, but it can run off an auto adapter I'm sure.