Im a pretty big fan of all them, but after owning a Squire and the general feel of that, Fender is last for me. I like thier stuff, but they are just too blah. Plus they really have nothing that stands out that much. I mean you got the strat and the tele, and thats about the backbone of that company, and thier blah IMO. Now Dean has risen on my list quite a bit since I saw TSO in concert and Chris Caffery is a big supporter, plus thier guitars are just insane looking. Gibson has to be first by far though. Nothing beats a good ole Les Paul or SG. They also have some pretty unique models like the Explorer(DREAM GUITAR!!!!). But yeah Dean is a close second...I mean what is more bad *** then this guitar? *Sorry its so big*