Best Brands?

[Vishnu]

Hello everyone...I'm new here and I have a few questions. I tried looking through some of the threads already on here to answer my question without bugging others, but I couldn't find any that specifically answered my questions. So I'm sorry if someone has already brought to the table all the answers I seek, but if so then please answer me anyway or just ignore my request.
1) There are several types of shisha out there and although their prices are different, I'm not sure if there is a common preference associated with them. I've tried the Al Fakher premium brand and love it, but need to know if the differences in Gold, and some of these other brands are worth the price.
2) Secondly, I have a Med. Bohemian "Crystal" Hookah, and might look at geting another type. Does the brand or shape of a Hookah affect the smoking experience in terms of taste or efficiency of use?
3) Lastly, I've shopped around the internet and there are all different sites and prices (about 10 main websites). Are there any sites that are better to buy from then others do to the extras they give you or the price?
Thank ahead for those of you taking the time to read this and answer my questions!
Wiz

[NERV]

1, the golden al fakher is just different flavors, i dont know if it
actually costs more or not, other popular premium brands are romman and
the recent hookahhookah, plus despite what some naysayers think, i
personally love nakhla

2, bohemian crystal? where did you get it? the bohemiam crystal bases
are probably the best ones around, prettier than acrylic, stronger than
glass, crystal hookah are generally expensive and well made, so doubt
you will find many better ones.

3, the most trusted sites seem to be thehookah.com and
hookah-shisha.com(i personally was disappointed by them but i believe
they recently cleaned up their act) and hookah-hookah-com
(hookahhookah.com??)

sorry HC, but despite a rough start they seem to be booming

[cypress]

Depending on what flavor you are looking for will be the factor on what
brand to get.  Pretty much the agreement in here the better brands
are Al Fakher, Fumari, Roman and Hookah Hookah.  There is no one
brand that makes all the best flavors though. 

[Vishnu]

I bought my Bohemian Crystal and Shisha from Socialsmoke.com and I am very pleased with all aspects, but I really have no base to judge from either other then speed and convenience of service. I will have to look into those other sites but would love more input from others on this. thanks
wiz

[Mathazar]

Romman Double Apple from www.Hookah-Shisha.com is AWESOME if you like a
nice FRESH Licorice taste. The other GREAT flavors
are:  Orange,  Strawberry,  and Sweet Melon which tastes
exactly like fresh Honeydew Melon.

www.Hookah-Hookah.com has some INCREDIBLE flavors that come packed in
250gram completely airtight plastic jars.  The BEST flavors
are:  Margarita,  Pineapple, Grape, and Melon which tastes
just like fresh Cantalope.  The other flavors have been a bit
lacking in flavor lately,  so just avoid them.  In the month
of February, Hookah-Hookah will be releasing 10 new flavors. 
Among them are:  Watermelon, Cognac, Jamaican Rum, Cinnamon,
Coconut,  Kiwi, Pina Colada, Jasmine,  just to name a
few.  In the month of April,  they'll be releasing 10 MORE
flavors.  Butterscotch is one that I reccommended to them, 
and they seem to think it's going to be an AWESOME flavor.  I hope
so 

www.Hookah-Hookah.com allows you to CUSTOMIZE your own hookah. 
The beauty of this is that they have these multi-hose PERSIAN STEMS
that have an a little metal ball in the hose stem that SEALS airflow
when someone else is taking a hit.  So, rather than everybody
covering-up their mouthpieces so someone else can take a hit, 
this little metal ball sitting in it's chamber will seal the airflow
allowing others to take a hit.  It's PURE genius!!!  But,
when you're customizing a Hookah,  make SURE you pick-out a
Persian Stem.  The other great thing about buying your Hookah from
Hookah-Hookah.com is that the stems are all POLISHED stainless
steel.  They're ABSOLUTELY beautiful!!!   
If I were you,  when you get to the customization section on
Hoses,  pick-out 4 Pleathor Hoses.  They're washable, 
and the BEST hose I've EVER used.  It has a Polished Stainless
Steel Mouthpiece that is just a TRUE pleasure to smoke from.

www.Hookah-Shisha.com also has the multi-hose hookahs with their
"Auto-Seal System",  just like Hookah-Hookah's metal ball Sealing
System,  but Hookah-Shisha's stems are all made out of
copper,  and they WILL tarnish if you don't keep them dry. 
Hookah-Shisha also only has 3 hose stems with the "Auto-Seal
System",  under their SYRIAN hookahs,  whereas
Hookah-Hookah.com has 4 hose stainless steel stems.  Hookah-Shisha
offers you lots of accessories.  That's where the price will
differ.  You can get a 3 hose Syrian Copper Hookah from
Hookah-Shisha.com with tons of accessories for around $129. 
But,  when you customize a hookah at Hookah-Hookah.com you have to
add the accessories to your purchase after you've customized your
hookah.  But,  it's not as bad as it sounds,  as it
really may only add about $20 or $30 to your total cost.  I
Haven't bought a hookah from Hookah-Hookah.com,  but they sure do
look nice.  I have, on the other hand bought a 3 hose Syrian
Hookah with "Auto-Seal" from Hookah-Shisha.com and that was an ABSOLUTE
MASTERPIECE.  A true WORK OF ART  . 
I bought the Gold Stem on Green Vase,  and it was beautiful. 
But, the only complaint I have with that hookah is that charcoal tray
allows syrup from the tobacco to drip down the side of the
hookah,  thus tarnishing the hookah and staining whatever surface
you place your hookah on.  In my case,  it was my
carpet,  and it stained the HECK out of it.  I don't want to
tell you what to buy,  but if I were going to buy another
hookah,  it would be a 4 hose Persian from
Hookah-Hookah.com.  To me,  it's worth the extra money.

When they have Watermelon in-stock,  www.Fumari.com is a great
place to buy from.  Take this point in FACT,  ALL OF FUMARI'S
OTHER FLAVORS SUCK, THEY'RE FLAVORLESS!!!  Some people have
claimed that the Guava is good,  but I haven't tried it. 
Their Watermelon,  on the other hand,  is
EXCEPTIONALLY-GOOD!!!

www.SocialSmoke.com and www.Hookah-Shisha.com both sell
Al-Fakher.  Though,  I think Hookah-Shisha only sells them in
250 gram oontainers,  whereas SocialSmoke has 50gram sample
packs.  My favorite Al-Fakher flavors are: Plum, Cappuccino, 
and Coconut.  In my honest opinion,  there's no difference
between the regular Al-Fakher and the premium Golden Al-Fakher or the
Al-Qema,  except that you can get certain flavors with Golden that
you can't get with regular AF.  Personally,  I think the
Golden Black Grape SUCKS!!!   
King Mo will send a Mafia Hit Squad to my house for saying that, 
but it's just my opinion.  If you want a TRUE TO FLAVOR
Grape,  go to www.Hookah-Hookah.com, it tastes just like Concord
Grapes,  it's WONDERFUL

[King Mo]

Every brand has a couple of good flavours.
 
Fakher has the most.
Fakher also WITHOUT QUESTION, has the thickest and most luxorious smoke, and I am being totally honest about this.
best apple : fakher
best grape: fakher, followed by golden, followed by grape
Best Cherry: Al-Amir, Followed by Fakher, Followed by romman
Best melon/watermelon: fumari watermelon, romman sweet melon, hookahhookah melon
 
my favourite all around flavours at the moment are grape fakher, fumari watermelon and Al-Amir cherry.
All unbelievable smokes.
I wont be sending a hit squad to mathazar , but I'll say one thing. Unless hookahhookah stop making half their boxes taste like crap, I cannot see how they can be recommended. IF IT IS TRUE that there is a 'good half' to the flavours of hookahhookah, then quite simply until they make a consistent flavour, which EVERY company does (whatever taste), they cannot be recommended, and it has to be said they are crap. Mathazar was kind enough to provide samples, and the melon was fantastic, but are all their melons fantastic? If they sort out a consistent production of the same flavour (basic requirement), then and only then should the be recommended.
Its like saying, hey man, you should go to this restaurant, but half the time they might sh*t in your food? but no worries, IT TASTES AWESOME lol