Consumer reports and any other "safety rating" when it comes to car seats is totally useless. Car seats pass a set of standardized testing on a pass or fail scale. They are all equally safe. What you pay extra for is bells & whistles. Consumer reports rates based on that & ease of use.
It can be ver overwhelming! I wanted one too, that snapped into the stroller, and had multiple bases so that we could swap between vehicles. But even with those two things, there are a ton to choose from. I honestly ended up choosing based off of the neutral colors/design so that it could be used for both a boy and girl. I'm glad I did that, because our first is a girl and now we are expecting a boy!
Re: Car seats and strollers