Finding a good hosting provider is a bit of a journey. Over the years, my needs have changed and so too has my hosting provider. I started out using Bluehost on a basic shared server plan and it worked for what I needed -- a standard way to host one, or few, low priority sites.

My next step was toying with a VPS server (virtual private server) using HostGator, then Linode, and then Rackspace. As far as a VPS provider is concerned, I'm biased toward Rackspace as their server backup, creation, and resource allocation tools were all self-managed.

But a VPS is limited in that it is still shared hardware, and no virtualization is perfect. I moved into the world of dedicated servers recently and have been quite please with UBservers as their support has been responsive and you get an amazing amount of server for a fraction of the price from other companies. If you're a capable sysadmin and don't need management services from your hosting provider, look no further -- UBservers wins the bang-for-buck race hands down.

UPDATE: UBservers recently changed their server policy so that their 'Affordable Server' line is limited to 4 IP addresses. Their 'Professional Servers' are a bit overpriced in my mind. If you'll be hosting a lot of sites needed SSL capabilities, check out ReliableSite.Net as they have competitive pricing and up to 255 IP addresses with proper justification.

Rundown:

• Best shared hosting: Bluehost
• Best VPS provider: Rackspace
• Best dedicated servers (less than 4 IPs): UBservers
• Best dedicated servers (more than 4 IPs): ReliableSite.Net