Giant-Vac without a dout is the best made unit out there. It has shock absorbers built into the handle to cut down on opertaor fatigue. The metal frame is also constructed of a heavier gauge steel, considering the amount of stress cracks I have seen on other brands this is a huge plus. I would consider borrowing a back pack blower if you have axcess to one. They are not as powerfull as a ground blower but might be enough for what you need to accomplish. Half the power but half the price as well..

Anthony- I had a Fradan with a 12hp briggs. This thing was powerful no doubt but I traded it in after 2 years. It was expensive for a one use seasonal machine. It was loud. It was hard to start, the Briggs didn't have compression release. I have a lot of bush beds and the machine would blow the mulch out but wouldn't get all of the leafs entangled in the bushes. A backpack blower suited me much better. Somethings to think about. - Kris

I've got an 8hp Giant-Vac that works great. It replaced an unknown brand blower that I figure was ~35 years old based on the engine serial number. The giant-vac is much better but also a LOT larger. For a large amount of leaves, I think only a trac-vac type of unit would work better. Around here, I mostly see Little Wonder units that the landscape guys use.
I see alot of them for sale on Craigslist, maybe try looking for a used unit instead of new.
Spent about 4 hours sunday blowing the leaves and shredding them with my yardman chiper/shredder. Before I had either, I'd spend about 2 full days (or more) raking and hauling the leaves to the woods in my backyard.

Mine is large and heavy, it gives you a workout if the ground is sloped or if the ground is a little soft (from rain)

I bought an aprox 15 year old Little Wonder from a neighbor that was moving. Saved a lot of cash and its still in great shape. If you can find one that was residential owned, not commercial, a used one should last a long time.

I used to use a walk behind but found it cumbersome and expensive to rent. I purchased the RedMax EBZ8000 back pack blower 3 yrs. ago. I found this blower to be just as effective as the walk behinds. Truly a great blower.