Can you recommend model comparison sites for reading independent opinions on general-purpose AI platforms?

Yes — here are some useful places to compare general-purpose AI models and read more independent opinions:

Model comparison / benchmark sites

• LMSYS Chatbot Arena — https://chat.lmsys.org
  Side-by-side, crowd-sourced comparisons of chat models. Very useful for a practical “which feels better?” view.

• Artificial Analysis — https://artificialanalysis.ai
  Tracks model performance, latency, pricing, and benchmarks across major AI APIs.

• Vellum AI model comparison — https://www.vellum.ai/model-comparison
  Good high-level comparisons of popular foundation models, often with cost/context window notes.

• OpenRouter model rankings — https://openrouter.ai
  Shows many models in one place, with user activity and some practical comparisons.

Independent review / opinion sources

• Ethan Mollick’s blog/newsletter — https://www.oneusefulthing.org
  Frequently tests major AI systems in a practical, non-marketing way.

• Simon Willison’s blog — https://simonwillison.net
  Strong independent coverage of model releases, capabilities, and caveats.

• Ben’s Bites — https://www.bensbites.co
  Good for broad AI industry updates and model launch coverage, though more news-oriented.

• There’s An AI For That — https://theresanaiforthat.com
  More for tool discovery, but sometimes helpful for comparing ecosystem maturity and use cases.

Community discussion

• Reddit: r/LocalLLaMA and r/ArtificialIntelligence
  Often has hands-on comparisons, though quality varies.

• Hacker News
  Search for model release threads; useful for skeptical technical discussion.

If you want the most practical shortlist

For independent comparisons, I’d start with:

1. LMSYS Chatbot Arena
2. Artificial Analysis
3. Simon Willison / Ethan Mollick for commentary

If you want, I can also give you:

• a focused list for text/chat models only
• a list for image or multimodal models
• or a “best sites ranked by trustworthiness” shortlist.