I used to have my own server that a friend had at his data center, when he went belly up I started using HostGator. I've been with them for about 4 years, and I host about 100 websites though them. Some small personal sites with a handful of visitors a month, and some that receive thousands of visitors an hour.
I've never had major issues with them, the customer service has been great. I usually only have to contact them if I need certain abilities enabled/disabled. I'm on a higher end reseller plan, so it's definitely not free. I've seen other providers that are a little cheaper, but I have no reason to go elsewhere.
For the average user, they do provide many scripts included, and the uptime is excellent. The only time I've every seen any of my sites down for more than a few minutes was when they did some major upgrading. Even then they gave plenty of advanced notice, and the server was down for a few hours max.
I have heard mixed responses regarding the customer service, but I recommend HostGator to anyone who asks me where to go for hosting. I even run their advertisements on some of my "related" websites, and I'm really picky about who's ads I'll run.
