You can't go wrong with a Tall Tines recurve or long bow.  Of course there are so many excellent bowlers and bows. To each his own.  Shoot before you buy if at all possible as we are all different in our shooting style, demands and preferences of a bow for our individual needs.

Rainyday bows by George Perez .

Chuck at Two Tracks is turning out some awesome bows!

Kirk Lavender builds a fantastic ILF bow.  

JD Berry Longbows are pretty special... I'm in the fan club.  It may be getting tough to get on the list... Call him and check if you want an ASL longbow.

This thread has turned from naming the latest "who's who" in bows to "every maker that has ever made a bow and then sold it to someone". My understanding of the term "who's who" is something that is popular on several levels.  I've noticed that with bows, the (most) popular brands tend to shift from time to time.  A few years ago I would say the big "who's who" would have been javaman, especially elkheart.  Now, its hard to say, but I read an aweful lot about Tall Tines, and Big Jim's wait list is pretty long and I've recently read alot about Thunderchildren.  This isn't to say that there aren't great bows that have lost or yet to have gained popularity, they just aren't the current "who's who".

Brandon Stahl of Rose Oak creations is making phenomenal bows and has a huge following.

BWallace, you hit the nail on the head.  As a group we tend to be very loyal to our (current) bowyer of choice--though that may change with the next purchase.    :D

There's a new company called Bear... and we landed on the Moon to!!  

Their is always a shift in popularity but my 2 cents worth is if you want a longbow Jim Neaves at centaur archery. And a recurve hands down Bill Dunn at zipper bows, The new Z4 limb is very impressive but their is limited information on it at this time.

I would say South Cox is at the top of the list for me.