I have recently been through an EXTREMELY stressfull hosting experience.
So I have some STRONG suggestions.
If your income and business relies on your site being up...
If you want to be able to sleep at night...
Don't go cheap and don't take the advice or one or 2 people...
Do through research at Web Hosting Talk
That forum is filled with REAL host reviews that contain both good and bad for almost any host you can think of. And if someone complains they have to prove to mods that are hosted with that host to insure its not just another hosting company trying to tear down a competitor.
It IS true that every host out there has unhappy customers.
Even Lexus customers sometimes get a lemon.
Some hosts are good at shared and not at dedicated.
Some excel at VPS but don't do other hosting well.
AND some hosts that have had good rep for a long time
go down hill and there support is no longer any good.
HOWEVER if you do deep research at WHT you will see the patterns.
BE SURE TO READ THE COMMENTS IN THE BLOG BELOW.
Several of us that are fairly big bloggers have been having hosting problems.
There are some important host warnings, things to look out for and check with your host about especially if you use WordPress and some good recommendations about solid hosts.
The Worst Mistake A Webhost Can Make… | Andy Beard - Niche Marketing
If your site is earning good money and you want to sleep at night
you REALLY need to research before selecting a host or moving to a new one.
Some of the recommendations in that thread about the ways to research are priceless.