It depends on your needs and where you are OP. For example I had to change my phone and went with a Nokia G21 (primarily for the long battery life and good price vs value). I'd also stay away from top brands because you're pretty much paying the brand instead of the phone.

The G21 is great for my needs but it's definitely not gonna be bifl. The EU already passed some interesting laws to make the nex gen phones more repairable for example (replaceable pop in batteries like we had in the good old days). Current generation of phones have everything encapsulated so you have to replace it in 3 years or pay for an expensive repair shop. They are thought out for maximum consumerism.