Hey Sherman............
The best is relative, what do you want the helo to do? If you want a heavy lifter, go for the -53E but that may not be a good choice because of mission profile constraints, the Chinook may be a better aircraft for your needs. Pound for pound, the Kaman K-Max is the winner in the heavy lift arena but it can only carry the external load, not good for a military customer.
These are just a few of the factors involved in heavy lift. A helicopter is like any other aircraft, to pick the best you have to narrow the criteria just a wee bit more. Even when you do that there will never be a clear, overall choice. Two of the best examples of this are Apache vs. Cobra and Huey vs. Blackhawk.
Once you get into the civilian arena, the waters muddy a bit. Civilian operators have much different requirements and cost is a much bigger consideration.
If you ask me which I think is the best I would have to say that the Blackhawk is the best, but I am just a
little bit biased. Further replies to this will certianly illustrate the difficulty and bias in picking the best. There is really no clear winner in any one category.
Mac