What are some recommendations for a trainer to get better at going uphill? Right now, I have a Specialized Epic Expert '07 and a set of Bike Nashbar Rollers. It is pretty fun to roll and watch a movie, but it gets boring fast and never feels safe.

I was looking into different trainers to do something different and actually work towards a goal which is getting better at hills.

I have been looking at Tracx Vortex Smart T2180, Kinetic Fluid Trainer Rock 'N Roll Smart, and CycleOps FLUID² but it seems that there are so many nuances from each.

I have a Garmin 520 and do not have a power meter on my bike. I understand that the Tracx is the most smart, but does not provide the road feel of a fluid trainer. The Kinetic is great for getting out of the saddle and getting those extra muscles working out, but it uses a non standard connection to broadcast stats. 

Is there something out there that would be quiet to use, provide the most road like feel, have the ability for smart functions that my Garmin 520 can use, and get me better for going uphill?
Whilst it is true that there are some differences in muscle recruitment between pedalling uphill and on the flat, the main difficulty hills present is an increased power output for a sustained period of time (unless you have a tiny gear of course).  However the main factor it comes down to is fitness - pure power/weight ratio - 200W is still 200W whether its uphill/flat/downhill. 

Riders that struggle with hills tend to fall into one (or both) of two categories


Heavy riders that are held back by their weight and lack the muscular endurance to sustain a high power output over a long period
Weaker riders who lack the raw leg power to push the pedals round.


Any of the trainers you mentioned should be fine for your needs - find workouts that work on either improving your lactate threshold, or improving the force you can apply to the pedals at low cadence.
If you want to more closely mimic hill climbing, then put your front wheel on a tall riser block, ride with your hands on the tops of the bars, and concentrate on pedalling smoothly from the hips.

For reference, I use the Fluid² you mentioned, and have seen good gains over the last 12 months doing 2-4 minute big gear intervals (60rpm) to build leg strength and get used to applying force smoothly.