I did research for seriously 4 months now. Looked absolutely everywhere. Consumer based as well as from Car Seat Technicians, Consumer Reports etc.
I also did several check-outs of the skeletons of all these seats below.

**If you get anything from this review, just get that you need to check underneath the padding on any car seat you buy and look for protection from a crash. And make sure it is not cracked in half like my babytrend was for who knows how long.

These came up as the safest best reviewed infant car seats:
Graco Snugride 35 $139
Chicco Keyfit 30 $179 can find for 139
Safety First Air OnBoard 35 $159 can find for 139
Baby Trend Flex Lock $99- 129

Use your babies r us coupon to get 20% off, I got this seat for 137 after tax. (was 159) it is worth it to pay 37 more bucks. trust me. when your baby hates the car seat and screams constantly while you are driving because they are uncomfortable 37 dollars is nothing... Read more

One of the best baby seats I have used. In a pinch you don't need the base - the seatbelt hooks to the carrier directly. Light in weight and solid. Side inpact resistant. Good fabric. I would purchase this again!

I was so excited about this infant seat from all of my research. When it came in the mail I was thrilled by the quality of the product, how comfortable it seemed for my baby, how light it was, and most of all the safety features. However, it doesn't fit very well in either my 2003 Honda Accord or my husbands 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee. To fit this infant seat in either one of our vehicles it must be behind the passenger seat, and the the passeger seat has to be pushed so far up that my knees touch the front dash (I'm 5'4"). Totally disappointing!