Depends on what you want them for. I did some skating and wore nearly every major skate brand and I have some disappointing news. Big brands do it better.

If you still can, buy yourself a pair of Janoskis ans you'll be fine. If Janoskis are not possible, their direct successor is Nike SB Shane (O'Neill).

New Balance numeric are decent too, Jamie Foy's model that is, at least for wearing.

I'm surprised that Vans are this bad but maybe you're buying canvas non-skate sneakers and not skate ones. I used to wear a ton of TNTs and they were solid. Gilbert Crockett too.

After that, it's all the same to me. Any DC Shoe utilizing their 'super suede' tech would interest me too but I don't like their design.