This is always my recommendation, but as others mentioned what works for me doesn't work for everyone.
I don't necessarily care for a beaver tail (never had hammer bite), ambi safeties, extra fancy slide serrations. Others like these details, but they are not worth paying extra for me. So I went with Colt due to is being American made, the original 1911 company, forged frame, quality internals, and they still sell it in a classic blued (versus coated) finish.
The biggest negatives for me with a plain Jane Colt are poor sights, no checkering on grips (replacing a MSH is easy, but checkering a grip front requires refinishing a blued pistol), and generally price versus features (particularly when compared to a Springfield, which is also forged).
Which factors are important to you are something to be decided before picking up a pistol.
) Colt trade in value.
