I can't say about the best, it can be subjective, but fastest depends on location, which is your location or which location do you want your sites to be fastest at?
Personally I have to recommend myself. I got tired of all the bad, unreliable hosting providers out there. I now host all my own sites. I have reasonable rates if you want... For me the big things I look for are support and stability. I want my 99.999% up times and quick timely responses to my emails. Having knowledgeable support staff is good also. I've heard good things about 1and1 but can't comment specifically. I can recommend avoiding A Small Orange. Their systems are over loaded and unstable. I've had nothing but problems with every site I've hosted with them.