In a nutshell he recommends by price range, but is generally focused towards larger rather than smaller fish, and ignores free spool reels as he rarely uses them.

For regular reels he speaks very highly of Daiwa's Catalina especially, which is practically a cheaper Saltiga.

 In it's price range he recommends the Stradic FJ 'brilliant reel' for any fish of suitable size for the reel, and where dunking is unlikely.

If after bigger fish the Spheros SW gets the nod for being well valued, strongly built and fully sealed. Not so much the Saragosa SW which has minor 'improvements' for a major price bump.

For baitrunners he puts the Thunnus CI4 as easily the best option. 

What I like about his reviews is that he goes into obsessive detail, and after reading a few I feel like I've learned something.

I've owned and used multiple Stradics, Sustains and Twinpowers in various sizes. They are all great reels in my opinion, depending what sort of paces you want to put them through in regards to hard running kingfish. The sustains and smaller twinpowers were beautifully smooth with extra bearings in the right places and more metal configuration, I'm no reel engineer junkie. I've seen what effect that has when playing decent fish. But you do have to question the extra dollars when the Stradics and Saragossa's keep getting better and better. My inkling would be Stradic or Saragossa these days for a quality reel under standard use, but if you're a dedicated sports fisherman who really can see that you are going to get the reel absolutely screaming at force more often, a Stella may have to be the go. 

Ancient Mariner, since it's a medium size reel, I'd either go Stradic or Stella in the Shimano range. I wouldn't bother with much in between.

If you want a bit more water tightness than the Stradic, but don't want a Stella, then the Certate is completely sealed. Apparently the magseal is now mature, and works well, prolonging time between services, but you can not self service. So you will need to send it to a qualified dealer every other year or so. 

Disclaimer: All this based on what I've read mainly Alan Hawk, but other stuff as well. 

I fish a Stradic 2500, Technium 4000, Symmetre 2500, Thunnus 8000 Ci4, and a Calcutta 200d. None of them have ever let me down, and I fully expect years of use from all of them.

that line ended about 4-5 years ago I believe