Refrigerators
Every time we've gone to look for a refrigerator in the last couple of years, most of the models listed in the Energy star website can't be found, although there are always similar models.  After visiting a few appliance dealers and not finding the highest rated units, we asked a sales person, and he said that so few customers ask about energy efficiency that they don't normally carry the most efficient models (although they did have the LG electronics model at $999, which is about $300 more than models from various US manufactures that have the same energy performance).  We finally settled on a Kenmore 18 cu ft model that was near the best on the energy star chart, and possibly top rated by Consumer reports, but as usual, we couldn't figure out how to connect the model number in the store with that described by Consumer reports.  The sales person (who are notoriously loose with facts), said that we got the right one, but who knows.  He said it was made by Frigidaire.

Stoves
No one gives energy ratings to stoves or ovens, although in our experience self cleaning ovens have better insulation, so they use less energy for the same amount of baking time.  The choice of gas or electric is a tough one, because although gas stoves avoid the inefficiencies of electric generation and transmission, but the penalty is that a gas stove consumes the oxygen in the room, and emits various pollutants, and so in a energy efficient house you need to run an exhaust fan when you are using the stove, which of course reduces the energy efficiency of the house (this isn't all that significant with a low speed fan that exhausts 100CFM or so, but with a powerful fan, like those used in downdraft cooktops, the entire air in the house is removed in about 20 minutes.)

All these concerns turned out to be irrelevant because the electricians initial load calculations was that a 200 amp service couldn't handle two electric stoves, two electric dryers and all the other loads from two separate living units, so we decided to we'd get a gas stove and a gas dryer, and the problem would be solved.  At this point, the problem that gas stoves don't simmer well came up, and along with prodding by various friends and a good sales person, Kim decided she had to have a Viking stove, which is the cream of the crop in gas stoves, but priced somewhere between astronomical and ridiculous.  Given that construction is already expensive and we're downsizing anyhow...well anything can be justified if you want to.  Bob's initial impression is that they look too industrial, and they're a bad value.  To get self cleaning costs a few hundred extra dollars, and just to get the "island trim" piece (instead of the 6" high backsplash costs $150).  

Washers & Dryers

Washers present a tough choice, and there are a lot of good machines.  We have used a Fisher/Paykel before and really like it, but its not the more efficient machine, especially in terms of water use.  A better machine is the LG electronics, which is improved copy of the Fisher/Paykel machine, but quite a bit more expensive.  The other top rated machines are Equator & Kenmore.  We were suspicious of the Kenmore, since they are typically made by a US manufacturer, and none have a comparable machine, and we had no idea why that would be.  Our fear was that it was some untested technology.  Historically foreign manufactures have had a technology advantage because their customers demanded it for some reason or another.  In the end we chose the Fisher/Paykel because its was the best machine at an affordable price, and in our experience it washes clothes fairly well.  We had no other data on how well any of the machines actually wash clothes, which really ought to be reflected in their energy ratings, since a washer which doesn't do a good job could force you to wash some clothes a second time.

Energy star doesn't rate dryers, and our assumption is that they're all more or less the same.  This probably isn't true, and some probably have more efficient motors than others, which could be an issue if you're looking for a gas dryer running off a PV system.

For the apartment, we needed a stacking unit, and choose the Fridigaire stacking units.  After they were delivered we discovered that the washer door on front loading washers almost all open only one way, and its turns out that way is backwards from what is convenient for the location we had.  Beware that most front loaders have hinges on the left and can't be swapped.

Dishwashers

Like washers, there is a huge number of dishwasher models, and many energy star rated ones.  Among the top rated models, Asko stood out, although at $1000 its not cheap.

In the apartment we just couldn't afford a top rated dishwasher (and we didn't think putting an expensive dishwasher in a rental unit was a good idea), so we just went with a low cost unit.