I like Apple Laptop. It's expensive, but it's usually worth the extra cost. You can't go wrong with this because of its durability and classy design. Its customer service is also the best in the industry.
I had a Dell laptop for work a while back and I've owned Gateway and Apple laptops. By far, I prefer the Apple. In fact, I just ordered a new MacBook Pro and it'll arrive in two days!
I prefer Dells mainly because my three year old Dell laptop is still going strong with no major hardware issues besides someone frying the hard drive. Then again, wasn't a big deal since it was only a 250GB, and I wanted a bigger one anyway at the time.
I can't say that I have much understanding in what brand is the best but I own a Asus and think that it works perfectly for me. At work I have a HP - frankly speaking, no difference.
I have owned toshiba, sony and acer. All have been good but the Sony had weak hinges and they broke after about 3 years so not terrible but it woud have been useful for anothet year or two otherwise.