Kind of off-topic, but everyone should keep these ideas in mind. I was browsing the forums over at webhostingtalk.com and I found this topic concerning poor web hosting service. This poor guy got slammed with terrible customer service and blatant incompetence in terms of handling fairly simple technical errata (He only wanted to transfer 200MB of data!). Always do a considerable amount of research before you jump in on the web hosting business!
That said, make sure you know what you need and what each provider gives. A good case in point is GoDaddy- I’ve used them for blogs in the past and they’ve served me very well for this purpose. Their shared hosting plan is basic and rigid, but it provides more than enough to run a small blog. There are others, however, who absolutely despise GoDaddy- they crave uptime and panic when their site is down for a few hours now and then. If you don’t care about 99% uptime or blazing speeds (as I haven’t with my small sites) go with a cheap plan! It will almost inevitably save you money and heartbreak.
Moral of the story: Research your options, and research them smartly. Don’t get a dedicated server for your blog and then complain about the price, and don’t sign up for cheap shared hosting and then complain about the speed! Know what you need and then look at reviews for that specific service. Chances are that will keep you much better informed and will save you from posting heartbroken topics on Internet forums.