I'm on my 3rd for my 2 acres of rough ground in the last 23 years. First 2 were a Craftsman, followed a few years later by a Husky. Both had large decks, which gave me some grief. Both from Lowes.
Bought a JD S240 last fall with 42"deck from a local JD dealer not a bigbox store. So far, I'm very happy with it. If you settle on a JD, get it from an official JD dealer that will support it. Full specs here:
https://www.deere.com/en/mowers/lawn-tractors/200-series/s240-lawn-tractor-42-in/
That said, the first thing is to consider your ground. Is it flat and smooth with few obstacles, or is it rough, with steep slopes, and lots of obstacles? Will you need to bag the clippings, or need various implements (trailer, thatcher, box blade, snowblower, etc.)? Does the mower have the cheap bushing and spindle axles, or ball/needle bearings like cars? How easy is it to change the oil & filters (air and oil), and grease the deck spindles and wheels? Are the controls easy for you to use? What size is the gas tank? For your acreage, figure it will take around 3 gallons or more to mow depending on the above rough/smooth, etc. Keep in mind that the bigger the mower deck the more weight that engine needs handle, and the more blades you'll need to change/sharpen - 48" and up will usually have 3, and blades ain't cheap. Deck and drive belts tend to fail after a few years, so you should buy spares when you buy the mower - get 'em while their cheap. Ditto blades. The grass won't stop growing just because you have to wait a week or 2 for delivery of replacements if the bigbox is out of stock.
Whether you get a zero turn with the deck out front or the more common rider with a steering wheel is mostly personal preference and depends on what you have to deal with. Zero turns are more expensive and not necessarily better. If you need other implements such as I mentioned, a zero turn mower is not what you want. Don't let them talk you into something you don't really need.
