best benchtop material

No benchtop material is perfect and impervious to damage, they all have their weaknesses and disadvantages.

If you want something really distinctive do a search on polished concrete - it is becoming increasingly popular and can look superb.

Caesarstone is one of the leading manufacturers of reconstituted stone, just another blend of resin and quartz, mostly quartz.
Engineered stone and granite can be chipped, scratched, marked and stained although a lot of typical damage can be treated and/or removed - this is particularly the case with engineered/reconstituted stones.

Timber would have to be one of the more high maintenance benchtop materials.
Most of the people here who have timber tops love them, but that is because a lot of them are timber/quality-material enthusiasts.
Timber is one of the easier materials to mark and damage as it is inherently soft compared to say, stone.
But timber also develops character with age and often the marks, dents and stains add to this.

My favourite benchtop material is stainless steel and I would definitely choose it above anything else every time.

Cheers,

Earl

On a price/lifespan/cleanability basis, it's really hard to go past laminex benchtops, especially with the huge range available. You have the same sort of use restrictions as fully synthetic tops, but considerably less cost.

With synthetic stone and real granite, remember that if you place warm plates on it, the plate will cool very quickly.