I have heard good things about the Quansheng UV-K5/8/99. Primarily because there is a hack firmware available.

If you want a "good" HT as an introduction to the hobby, then the Yaesu FT-65R or older FT-60R are both good.

A "do everything" (analog) radio might be the Yaesu VX-6R, which I previously owned. It excels on reception, and is a "tri-band" radio, but the extra band was not useful in my experience.