I am primarily a handquilter and I have used everything and anything. A lot depends on who and what the quilt is for. I will admit that I save the expensive batts for something very special. I also take advantage of any sales on batting. I make about 20 Linus quilts a month and they are machine quilted. For those I use the ten yard rolls of poly batting that are sold at JoAnns. I purchase a few everytime they go on sale.
With the more expensive batts you have to becareful which side is up. They have a scrim and it can be hard to handquilt through.