Maxtor and WD, assuming you don't get a DOA drive, are the most reliable over a long time. Seagate was (and still is as far as I recall) the most cutting edge and I'd rank second for reliability (I've had 2 die unfortunately, the only 2 HDs I've lost, but their replacements are working great). Pretty much any other brand I'd say don't trust based on the brand; if they don't die after X amount of time, they're probably good for a long while. Between 6 computers in my house I have 2 Seagate, 1 WD and 6 Maxtor. After about 2 or 3 years the Maxtors start really slowing down but I have a computer with 2 Maxtor HDs from 1998 and they still work (they're just slow as dirt now, have never had any errors). I did have 1 Maxtor light on fire (literally) once, but it wasn't the hard drive's fault (a mouse got in the computer and touched too much stuff... it was horrible after I figured out what the black lump was... weeks later).
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