best phono preamps?

Hands down best I have heard, (do not own) is Doshi Aalps (sp?). I have not heard any of the above except the Steelhead, at a show, which is also VERY impressive.

Just bought the Art Audio Vinyl Reference. Wow what a difference that made in my system. One of the best I've heard.

Best for what? When you go for a very low output MC and you need high gain, I think, a transistor is the way to go (Klyne 7 for example, a good sounding unit, not so dead like most others out there).
Or you can live with 55-60dB gain, here you can go with tubes without any troubles (noise etc.), Lamm LP2 is uncolored and easy to live with.

This has been brought up here several times, use the search function to really see the results of the best phono preamp replies. I did a search for best phono amp and best phono preamp with varied results.

Personally I believe the Aesthetix IO Signature is the best sounding phono amp I heard, way better to me then any of the ASR's and equal quality (not sounding) to the Einstein, the Einstein has a different sound character. The Audio Research PH7, BATVK10SE and the LammLP2 seem to be the top contendors in a certain category, above or below those price ranges, there are literally dozens to choose from.
Good luck,
Audioquest4life

Atma-sphere MP1 Mk III. I don't claim it's THE BEST, because I have not heard them all, but it certainly is top rank and deserves prominent mention among those that have been listed. It's a bargain in the sense that you get a fabulous linestage for no extra cost.