I would say that the 10/22 is probably the most popular, and they are great guns no doubt. Not sure there is a "best" but there are some guns people favor more. I have a Sears Ted Williams (Winchester) semi-automatic that was my grandpa's (prob 50yrs old) ... not sure I could get a better one. It functions flawlessly, and is an absolute tack driver. With open sights it shoots a 1" group at 50yds on the bench, which is as good as I could expect out of any .22
My son loves shooting squirrels with it, and even beat his uncle last year in a contest using it (open sights) vs. his uncle's high dollar scoped .17 LOL
I also have a Rem 552 BDL, very nice gun, but I actually like the old gun better.