I've been using Moniker, after hearing some of those same good things. I have had no problems with them.
Of course, one of the classic problems with registrars is an inability to get your names out when things go bad. (Presumably the ones that make it difficult to join are rapidly culled by natural selection.) And it's kind of hard to judge that. I'm certainly not going to leave Moniker just to see how easily they let me go...
I use Moniker and I have been happy with them. They have a pleasant interface. However, if you add their extra services like email and such it probably becomes expensive.
Moniker has services for domain appraisal and all that junk if you are into it.
