im tempted to say that an audigy 2 zs works fine for most people. especially if your not an audiophile.
some others may say the entry x-fi is better.
Really, if you want the best jack-of-all-trades soundcard, yes, unfortunately, I have to recommend something in the Creative line, Audigy 2ZS, 4, or X-Fi. I hate to admit it, but Creative has that market.
...but if you're into just Music and Movies. There's way better than Creative, IMO. ...especially when connecting digitally to speakers or pre-amp/receiver.
So, before we can really suggest solutions, it'd be good to know what you use your soundcard primarily for. ...or you can be a zombie and get a Creative card and give it no more thought. ...not the best at anything but gaming, but good all-around cards, overall. ...and you don't need to get a X-Fi to do well, okay. ...all the sudden everyone needs a $120 soundcard...that can't even encode DDL or Dolby Digital.
...but of of course you know we look forward to offering our opinions and help. ...so what are you going to use your card primarily for?