stay away from motorolas
nokia and samsung are nice depending on the model. in my opinion, straight phones are a hell of a lot better than flip phones/sliders and whatever else there is. when it comes to durability, there are no moving parts on a straight phone. also, typically, the antenna in a straight phone is larger than most flip phones. if you're more into reception, like being able to talk on your phone while skiing, then just stick with something quad-band. if there's a tower, you should be able to pick up a good signal.
but yeah i used to work for tmobile and i've never had a huge problem with nokia and blackberry. the blackberry pearls do weird shit sometimes but pretty much all phones do. samsung is bomb too for taking pictures.