Take a look at Email That Works. They have rock solid IMAP and extremely responsive customer service. There are cheaper email providers, but the reliability is worth it to me. You can check out their
uptime statistics here.
As for the gmail recommendations, yes, gmail is well designed and convenient, but a lot of people seem to forget that Google isn't an email company, it's an advertising company. When you use gmail, you're not a customer, you're part of their product. A lot of people seem to be comfortable with that. I'm not.
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, the spam filters are quite effective now. I can't remember the last time I missed a legitimate email, and very little spam slips through.
As for the gmail recommendations, yes, gmail is well designed and convenient, but a lot of people seem to forget that Google isn't an email company, it's an advertising company. When you use gmail, you're not a customer, you're part of their product. A lot of people seem to be comfortable with that. I'm not.