HostBig.com- back in 2010- they were/are super cheap. For some reason my Joomla site kept going down and the database corrupting. I'm not sure whether that was Joomla or HostBig.
I can not remember my first that was about 5 years ago, and it closed down too. And in recent times, I'd say holderhost was the first one among the sites I am hosting with right now.
bodHOST is a top-tier, feature-stacked web hosting service that offers rich cloud, WordPress, VPS, and dedicated server packages. However, bodHOST's shared servers are particularly robust, with cost-effective Linux and Windows options.
Their cPanel Web Hosting plans start at just $1.09/month with getting the free domain on annual subscription plans, Also they are running the best deal on Web Hosting - Buy 1-year web hosting absolutely get 1-year web hosting.
Paid hosting wise: I started out using FreePGS.com which provided space, MySQL databases, and basic services. Then I graduated to Las Vegas Communications Solutions. They had a data center fire and it destroyed everything and they didn't offer me anything else worth staying. So I moved on to DreamHost and stayed with them for a long time. I tried Host Gator thinking it might be better because it was cheaper. Had nothing but trouble with them.
Been using DreamHost VPS for 15 years now and happy with them