Most Americans are very familiar with franchises; after all, most of us interact with one on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Whether it's for coffee, tax advice, child care, or an oil change, Americans will spend about $835 billion this year in the country's 855,000 establishments, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

And although the economy's a real mess right now, it's actually a good time to jump on the franchise bandwagon. Why? Business startups tend to thrive in recessions since it's so hard for people to find jobs. And, for many, franchising represents a safer choice than building a business from scratch. After all, the failure rate for a franchised business is lower than the overall business failure rate, and the franchisor is offering (and training you for) a system that's presumably been battle-tested.

That's not to say it's easy to buy a franchise. It's not, which is why thoughtful, informed ranking systems like the new AllBusiness AllStar Franchises can be helpful when you're ready to start researching the best opportunities out there.