Swamper: your questions, or very similar are asked on almost a daily basis, hence the humorous first post.
Lurk around here, ask specific questions when you have them and they will be honestly answered. You also have to be able to separate the chaff from the wheat: everyone has their own opinion of what is "best" and "better", so there is not right/wrong answer...OK, well except for that first post!
To begin the answers to your questions:
1. Colt is considered "the standard" but they are also middle of the road; you can do better, you can do worse.
2. If you are asking about a rifle for your own personal use, then tell us what you want this rifle to do, and what you want to do with it...range, self-defense, hunting, etc.
3. Budget is, of course, important.
4. You use the term "quality" but quality means different things to different people; what does it mean to you? It could mean accuracy, reliability, performance per unit cost, etc.