Western Digital is the only brand I buy, in my experience their customer service is the only service that is good among the HDD makers. RMA with WD is always super fast, and the hard drives are always competitive with the top of performance if not the top.
Also, it has been my observation that when WD hard drives do have a problem, it is usually very aparent. I consider this a good thing, as it becomes clear when you need to replace it.