I love all the different chickens, but if you want good layers that are hardy then Rhode Island Reds. Australorps, Plymouth Rocks and New Hampshire Reds.
Sexlinks are the absolute best in terms of production for the most amount of large, brown eggs; for the least amount of feed. But they tend to burn out after their second year. My Barred Rocks are really good, consistent layers, and they are good sized girls. My Australorps are smaller, and while they lay slightly larger eggs, they don't lay as consistently as my Rocks.
I agree; sex links are unmatched as brown egg layers. It's the reason they are used by laying houses for brown eggs. Both Red and Black Sex Links will consistently churn out more than 300 large brown eggs per hen per year. My Black Sex Links have laid particularly large eggs with double yolks not being uncommon. Because of their phenomenal lay rate, sex links do tend to burn themselves out sooner than many breeds, however there are exceptions and some of my Black Sex Links have still been laying decently at 3-4 years old. In fact Britain's oldest living chicken is a Black Sex Link (marketed in Britain as Black Rocks) who laid two eggs at 17 years of age (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ritain-squeezes-eggs-THIRTEEN-years-last.html).
