Never was much of a spinning reel fan, I've have had a few over the 30+ years of fishing, mainly using them when I had to, for ultra light baits/lures, and things like free-lining shrimp or hook/bait only for drifting, when ever the situation warranted the need.
I have a smaller Penn Fierce, and two of their larger Fierce 800 combos for guest rods / Kingfish rods, and they have worked well, seem good for the money.
I also have some bay size Garcia and Shamano spinning reels, no complainants there either.
The Penn Spinfisher and Battle, from those that have them and what I've read are excellent reels.
However, my love/hate for spinning reels all changed last year when I picked up a Penn Slammer III 7500 and Penn Carnage ll rod for my wife, for offshore.
I liked it so much I ordered the same setup for myself.
Those things are a beast, with 50lbs of drag, smooth, the same Dura-Drag their International's use, plenty of line capacity, almost 400 yards of 65lb.
They have become my default go-to setup offshore, even more than my Fathom 2 Speed. With the Slammer, have had no issue with large 30+" snapper, large Amber Jack, Kingfish, Cobie, big jack crevalle
Bottom fishing, jigging, trolling, sight casting, no issues
I've seen others catching Yellowfin, 300lb grouper, etc on even smaller ones like the 6000 series.
I looked at ALLOT of different brands last year before I purchased it, and read allot of reviews and fishing shows.
Some of the reels I looked at, already mentioned here, were really nice. A few of the brands I looked at had issues with them heating up on big tuna, one guys drag got so hot it melted the plastic on top of the spool, and other reported the drag plates needing to be replaced annually due to wearing out (an issue I've yet to have the privilege of having with any reel lol)
I looked at Van Stall, Talica, Daiwa, Shamano, some looked better than others, but in general they all looked good.
But when I looked at the Slammer, to me it just felt better, tight fit/finish. The Slammer kept staying in my top 3 list when looking, kept coming back to it
It's waterproof / IP68 rated, Dura-Drag system they claim won't ever wear out, holds plenty of line, etc.
So far, after putting it to the test, I'm glad I went with what I did and can see why the Slammer III won iCast as best spinning reel
If the 7500 is any indication of how well these perform it won't be my last, and I can see some smaller one in the near future for bays, jetties, chicken dolphin, etc.
I think allot of it is whatever feels good to you, allot of excellent brands already listed here, and doubtful you would go wrong with any of them.
Penn Slammer III 7500
https://amzn.to/32xOXne
Penn Carnage II Rod
https://amzn.to/2XNYRSR
Relentless