I haven't bought a lawn mower in a very long time, but back in my early teens, THE mower to have was a Lawn Boy 2 cycle. It was incredibly powerful, and it would easily cut knee high grass, if it wasn't too wet. I bought one when I was 13 and used it to mow lawns for people in the neighborhood for $$ until I was about 17, when I moved to New York to finish high school. At that time (1979) I gave the mower to my cousin. He used that mower on his home lawn until it finally gave up the ghost in 2006
Mark