I think it depends on your budget...I like HP...I've been using my HP PC for more than 3 years..without any problem.
It depends on how you will use the unit, there are a lot of brands and models that caters different functions for your personal needs, and budget is also important.
I will suggest DELL... Better quality hardware, better performance and great customer care service....
Dell is quite good. Acer & Lenovo produce great machnies. Usually a better spec for the same priced Dell. Toshiba are very reliable apart from thier terrible hard drives.
Dell are crap for laptops. heres why It is known, that Dell uses alot of their normal pc desktop parts, for laptops, which isn't good because they are not meant to be used in a laptop, because laptops are portable etc. I would stay far away from dell laptops, there desktop pcs are good, yes, but laptops , no. I would get a sony, apple or asus laptop, nothing else.
i would say Asus is a good brand for laptop. Another one to consider is MSI, they are the ones who are growing in reputation.
I really think it depends on your choice of the laptop. The largest among laptop for me are Dell, HP Compaq.
For me Toshiba has been great long lasting =) buy the satellite L300 or something like that good deal for a great price