Well... my long lived (bought in '88) craftsman 5 gal shop vac finally died.
36 years of abuse and it's finally died, took it apart, cleaned it, lubed it, plugged it in, it ran for a few seconds, sputtered, smoked, drop kicked it into the bin.

So I'm looking for a new one, any suggestions?

I had to replace mine a month ago. I hadn't used it for a couple of years and it was just plain dead. I think the bearings seized/rusted.

I bought another one at a garage sale. That's how I bought my newly dead one-- probably over 30 years ago.

 I don't have any evidence that shop-vac style vacuums work for shorter lifespans today than 20 - 30 years ago.  A sales-data search of used drum vacuums indicates used models have not declined in market availability.  I assume due to the engineering they have rather long lifespans in general.  If planned obsolescence had an impact we would see a market availability reduction over time.  

 I have a few stainless steel Dayton brand vacs that work fine however I prefer the wheels on the Shop-Vac brand and would buy those again.  If you can use a compressed air-system on a shop I'd go with Guardair.  No motor so they last forever.

I'm on about year 28 of a big ol' Rigid wet/dry shop vac. Only used it for liquid once or twice the whole time. It's a beast. 4.25 HP, 12 gallon.

OK

Buttercup