For those of you that have looked at franchises which one is the best one to buy?

You should find a Franchise that appeals to your passion. I like to eat and have looked at frachises like:

https://secure.mygirlfriendskitchen.com/

At these types of franchises you go in and make your own dinners for a week but the food is already cut and prepared. With our busy lives it seems they maybe a good bet for the future.

I agree with Ace you have to be passionate about what you do there is a good quote that goes something like: If you find something you love to do you will never have to work again. We looked at some of the children fitness franchises like littlegym and thought they would be a lot of fun but werent convinced you could make a lot of money with them.

You may want to go to Entrepreneurs ranking of Franchises. They look at a number of factors and then rank the top 500:

Top Franchise Opportunities

It really depends as other people have mentioned in terms of your interest, though plenty of people have gotten rich having a McDonalds Franchise. You may want to consider looking at the Franchise Earnings book to see what you may be able to make:

Source Book Publications Online Bookstore: "How Much Can I Make?", 2005 Edition (116 Earnings Claim Statements)

I think the best franchises in the future are some that are just being started. How would you like to own a McDonalds Franchise 30 years ago it was a lot less expensive and more profitable. I would try to find a new concept that has a sustainable competitive advantage.

I agree with TMZ however the problem is finding the next McDonalds when you join a franchise early on you run the risk that they go out of business this happen to one of my clients that ran a tutoring franchise. But no risk no reward - there is no free lunch.