Agreed, the JLF is unmatched for fighters, but its long throw and engage distance make it mediocre for a lot of other genres. Check out the JLF mod in my sig to make it awesome for shmups, and a better all-around stick. My favorite genres are fighters, shmups, and platformers, all of which I think the modded JLF is best for.
As for other genres, if you're really into 4-way games, a Ms. Pacman Reunion stick is supposed to be best. Other uniquely different sticks off the top of my head would be 49-ways, rotaries, and analogs. I don't know enough about them to say what's good.