The forever which guitar strings are best

McCartney said, when he's asked by the music shop keeper "Which strings do you want", the shiny ones.
 
I'm going with that.

Meh. I've been using D'Adarrio .11 (thru) for electric and D'Addario .13 (thru) for acoustic for over a decade now. They sound good, last long, give me the resistance I like and are cost effective.
 
What I REALLY miss and used to use exclusively was an off brand called "NoFame" because they were pretty much as good and cost half the price (which was especially helpful for bass strings).
 
When I played live I would snap strings like crazy. It got to the point I could swap out a string before the 2-3 minute song had ended.
 
I'm not quite as heavy handed these days though because the home studio stuff really exposes right hand technical flaws.

I used Boomers a few times when I was just starting out and ya, they were good.
 
I used EB Slinky's (.08's and then .09's) for most of that period though and grew to dislike them. I think they did help me develop my bending/vibrato style early on before my blapples fully dropped and my hands got stronger. Now if I play anything less than a .10 it's like spaghetti strings.
 
The lighter gauges though are absolutely great for the hyper speed soloing stuff and at some point I may set up a guit specifically for that type of work but I really did abandon that route ages ago. I still play fast lead stuff sometimes but I'm far more into really digging in and making the notes pop and squeal vs trying to go for speed (I absolutely cannot compete with the new crop of speed players anyway... but I can outslippery/raunch/spazz them).
 
I also consider myself more of a "lead rhythm" type player. To me what I'm doing as a back up instrument betwixt solos is far more important than my noodly bits (but I still ache over those too so they create actual dynamics and not be noodling for the sake of noodling).
 
When I'm writing and tracking I've been trying to make it so that my "Lead Guit" track is one part from the beginning to the end of the song instead of overdubbing solos. I love "live" sounding recordings so I think that brings a bit of that despite being all on my lonesome. Point being that the .11 thrus allow me to really smash out the rhythms building up to the solos and although I lose some speed whilst noodling the smooth transitions and extra tone is worth it.
 
All anecdotal of course. Everyone's styles and prefs are different. The concept of there being a "best" string completely ignores the complexity of our craft. You use what works for what you are trying to accomplish. It's like debating Gibson over Fender. They aren't the same thing. They bring unique advantages (and disadvantages) to the table.
 
Cheers, all.

For me;
 
DAddarrio XL 110s for solid body electrics
D'Addarrio flat wound Chrome Lites for archtop 
D Addarrio extra hard tension J 44 for classical
 

Pedal Steel Guitar brings in another issue, string fatigue because of the constant stretching of strings.  When I was doing road work I would change strings (set) every 10 shows.  Not because they were dead but to avoid string breakage on a show.  I still change them about every 10 shows but that is "monthly" now.  On the changer (bridge) end there is a sharp bend that can be a breaking point.  It has roller nuts and that helps to minimize breakage at that point but there is still the potential.  On an E9th tuning (what is used on most Nashville sounds), the 3rd string is usually a .011 and tuned open to G# (same as 1st string 4th fret on 6 string guitar).  It is pulled to an (open) A.
 
I've tried almost every brand on the market including the new and pricey NYXL strings (got some free from the Nashville D'Addario rep).  The NYXL's seem to stay brighter longer but I just didn't like the sound.  My string of choice that I've used since the old Bill Lawrence Nashville days is George L's (SS wound).  Going back to what the guitar likes, my Franklin Pedal Steel likes the George L's.  Seems to "fall in place" with them.  Other brands I have to do a lot of retuning of the changes and even one brand that will remain unnamed was like rubber bands and I could not get it to tune or "stay in tune".
 
I like GHS Brite Flats for bass.  These used to be called "ground wounds". 
 

fireberd
Other brands I have to do a lot of retuning of the changes and even one brand that will remain unnamed was like rubber bands and I could not get it to tune or "stay in tune". 

I’ve also had problems intonating one brand, and the “reduced/equal tension” sets as well. For whatever reason there often just isn’t enough saddle travel in a Gibson bridge to get the intonation spot on. Or what passes for “spot on” on a guitar.

I generally go with the “the guitar decides the gauges” principle - which for me seems to mean 10-46 on Fenders and 9-46 on Gibsons. The shorted Gibson scale length implies a heavier string being a good idea to match the tension on the Fenders, but for whatever reason I much prefer 9-46. As did Les Paul.

As for makes, Fender pure nickel wrap are both good and the cheapest pure nickel wrap out there. I used Gibson strings for years on my Gibsons, but since Gibson dropped Brite Wires I’ve switched to Ernie Ball.

For slide in E and D it’s pretty much whatever I can get in 13-50something.

Man would I love to get my hands on a pedal steel. I've never played one but I LOVE the sound.
 
I'm also certain I could make horrifyingly unnatural noises with one.
 
Difficulty: I suck with a slide but I don't think I've had a proper instrument to really go anywhere with it. The stationary/face up orientation of the PS seems like the ultimate slide guit config. The bendy pedal stuff just makes it exponentially cooler.

I recently tried some "String Joy" strings for my ancient Gibson acoustic and they are very nice. Too much packaging but you have to get something extra with a $15 pack of strings. There's the box, paper wrap,  a plastic package with 6 other packages inside of it and a thank you card. They run the company out of Nashville. My 1930 Gibson is very delicate so I need uber light strings and String Joy makes a few options that work well.

Acoustic: Gibson Ultra Lights (.11-.52)
Electric: Fender Nickelplated Steel Super 250s (.11-.49)
 
Would experiment with others but $$ prevent me from potentially wasting them.