I dunno... I used to be a big fan of JL amps, but recently both the 300/4 and 500/1 I installed in my bro's car have died. They still power up but have no output. I know he plays the music a little louder than he should, but come on, these are Jl's... The old school RF (black bbq) amps I had in my old car did just fine and are still kicking it hard, even after he had my old car for over a year.

Kicker amps, imo, are way too big for the kind of power they produce. Been there and done that and I did not like them either. They got very hot, too. I love their Squares, but not their amps.

MTX, well, check out at Circuit City.

Alpine has always been solid and my PPI PC4800 is still going strong.

One amp company I never bought but would definitely do if money wasn't an issue is Phoenix Gold. I think their Titanium line is solid and the resale values (i.e. like on ebay) prove they are high quality.