I like regular old cheap aluminum muffin tins. The kind you used to get at the hardware store. :)

That said, I was given a sixer made of Polish pottery stoneware which I used for making Six Weeks Muffins for a relative last Summer, after surgery. I was concerned that the density of the stoneware might make it too hot (from heat retention) or too cold (from low conductivity), but it worked great. I might have adjusted the time on the first batch, but the muffins came out even and with a nice crumb, and it's really easy to lift them out, even when the tops overflow. It's also easy to clean and goes in the DW. And it's so pretty! They're not all like this, but mine has designs on the bottom, too.

I prefer the aluminum tins also. Because aluminum is reflective, it's a little more forgiving if you over bake them (unlike the old dark steel ones that I grew up with.) I always use cupcake liners to make clean-up easy.

I should mention that I prefer the deeper tins (because that's what I grew up with) but the aluminum tins I have are relatively shallow. The shallow tins work fine if you're using cupcake liners. w/o the liners, the muffins are too thin, IMO.

Check out this link for some useful information: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/guide/566/types-of-muffin-pan-materials.html

You need to think about:

- Whether you want to wash it in the dishwasher, because you should NOT wash aluminum in a dishwasher because it will discolor.

- Would you like a non-stick surface?

- Will the weight of the pan be something you would need to consider? Some of the stoneware, cast iron, and heavy metal pans can be very heavy to lift and move. If you make Sticky Buns/Pecan Rolls in the pan, it needs to be easy to lift and flip over while hot to remove the buns/rolls.

Overall, I would choose one with rounded corners and seamless cups, and shiny aluminum. After that, you can find some that have plastic covers, which would be nice to transport those baked muffins or cupcakes.

What I use depends on what I'm making. I like a shiny aluminum pan for a lot of muffin/muffin tin entrée baking, and I also have some dark/heavy aluminum muffin pans with silicon grips on the ends that I like for certain things, and for gluten-free muffin baking I prefer silicon muffin cups (I have both round and square cups) or a stoneware muffin pan. Gluten-free baking often has different results using different types of pans. If I'm baking in my solar oven, I have dark/black aluminum pans and also dark/black silicon cups (you must use dark pans in solar ovens for the best results).

I have mini-muffin tins, regular muffin tins, jumbo muffin tins, and muffin top pans (which believe-it-or-not have a lot of applications besides muffin tops). We have muffins every Saturday for breakfast. For me, obviously, it's not a one-size-fits-all world. Plus, I make a lot of muffin-meals I store in the freezer for hubby to take to work for his lunch. I need both 12-cup and 6-cup - depending on whether I'm making a 1/2 recipe (6-muffins) in the toaster oven or the Sharp microwave/convection oven, or a recipe and a half (for 18-muffins) in the regular oven (which is the most I can bake at one time in my oven).

-Grainlady

I would just say that I threw out an old mini-muffin pan because when I made Mique's mini-popovers (with Roquefort cheese), they stuck terribly. I also use a new pan that is non-stick, and that is they one I am keeping. I think that if you make popovers (which is what I mainly make in muffin pans), you need for them to be non-stick. If I make cupcakes or muffins (which is rare), I use paper inserts.

I do not wash any of these pans in the dishwasher, and I also do not wash my tart pans in the DW, although they do look like they are tin-plated. I don't think tin does well in the DW, as the chemicals may remove some of the plating.

I have my grandmother's aluminum ones. I have bought some other types of bakeware from Williams Sonoma and have been very pleased with it. It's pricier but the quality is really good.

I have the aluminum ones that were a shower gift in 1957....and I have bought a couple of non stick.
Who cares if the aluminum discolors? My worth as a human is not measured by how shiny my muffin tins are but by how good the muffins are......and muffins brown better in a dark pan.
I also have some antique, tin coated very dark muffin tins, and I used to have a cast iron muffin tin....also very dark. They make wonderful muffins and buns...but they are packed away in a box because they rust in the dishwasher.
And I also don';t put my tin coated tins in the dishwasher...not because the detergents might remove the tin ( tin is very non reactive...that's why it's used to line copper pans), but because tin is soft and scratches easily....and a scratch down to the steel will rust!

I really like this Caphalon muffin pan. It has a good weight (I have had thinner ones that warped over time, this one will not do that). The wells are deep and there is good spacing between them. I actually want to buy 2 more because I almost always make double or triple batches of everything that goes in muffin tins. However, I will buy it at Bed Bath and Beyond with a coupon which would put it cheaper than Amazon.

I bought the one tishtoshnm has linked, for my daughter and have baked with it at her house. I do like the depth of cups, the weight and the way it bakes.

I have nonstick muffin pans but almost alway use silicon muffin liners with them.

I also have some Calphalon pans like the one linked by Tish, and they are very nice pans, heavy and well made.

My favorite muffin pans, though, are Wilton Elite, because I like the handles on the end, they are much easier for me to hold when removing the hot pan from the oven or turning/adjusting a pan when it's hot. They've held up well and are cheaper than the Calphalon.

I have 6 cup pans, 8 cup pans, one very old 9 cup pan, 4 or 5 of the 12 cup pans, mini muffin pans, cast iron muffin pans shaped like kittens and cars and fish, muffin top/whoopie pie pans and regular popover pans. Yeah, I've got a lot of pans, from the merging of Elery's kitchen and mine, LOL, and my on-line auction habit of buying pans for a dollar or two.

I usually use paper liners with cupcakes but not with muffins, for reasons that I haven't even thought about until now, habit mostly, I think. I did have some silicon muffin pans and they were OK, but not my favorite and I got rid of them. The silicon bundt pan? That was the invention of the devil, I'm convinced, horrible thing!

Annie

I have two old aluminum ones but I got a gold tone one as a gift and I LOVE it.

They brown better in the gold tone than in the aluminum ones.

I don't like paper liners so I use non stick muffin tins.

My muffin tins are old, Mirro aluminum and they work well.

I want to second Annie1992's choice of the Wilton nonstick muffin tins. I bought mine at Walmart and they were low-priced. The muffins don't stick, and the dark color means a nice crust on each muffin. I couldn't be happier.

There are several Wilton nonstick muffin models. Just make sure to get the kind that has the darker finish, and has a lip or handle at each end for easy handling, pulling out of the oven, etc.

The USA Pan have my vote. I have their sheet pan for yeast rolls and the loaf pans. I ordered mine from Amazon. Very pleased with the quality and always wash by hand. Here's a link that may be useful:

https://www.amazon.com/USA-Bakeware-Aluminized-Cupcake-Muffin/dp/B001IANICS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1468785559&sr=8-3&keywords=USA+Pans