I have to vote for the Akebono pads. My last set of four was about $155 from FCP Groton. They put together a good package for me with Brembo rotors first time around and I got over 130,000 miles on those pads. I've got 39,000 miles on this set, with still no measurable wear on the rotors at all.

As others have noted, the initial grab is not as tight as OEM, but total stopping power is just as good. I've never experienced any fade problems towing a PWC in Texas heat.

2002 X5 3.0 241,000 miles
2004 325i 107,000 miles