The best meters are down to some what personal preference and what features you want out of the meter.
I use 2 different suppliers meters the main meter is the Bayer contour next usb, its small, has a good colour display, rechargeable battery that's either charged via the PC usb port or a separate mains charger. It has a good range of features with flags that you can mark meals, settable upper and lower limits as warning indicators. The computer software is free and easy to use and simple effective reports.
The second meter I use is the Accu Chek mobile a great all in one meter, ideal when out and about when driving. The fastclix lancet has got to be one of the best around, it also has a cartridge that contains 6 lancets. The meter uses a 50 test cassette and no strips to dispose of, just the cassette at the end of the 50 tests. The display is nice and clear again with customable high low limits. If you want to use the full software rather than what's inbuilt into the meter, then you have to but it.
The one problem with the like of the main suppliers is the cost of the strips.