I'm not sure I can make any personal recommendations. My websites are too new to speak with authority. I have heard others recommend Monte Carlo, Website Tonight and Powweb. Lisa has links to some of those
here.
I use x10Hosting. I started out with a free plan and then upgraded to a paid plan. I am very happy with them so far, but have only been there about 3 months.
Edited to add: If you do use a forum, vBulletin is a bit expensive, but there are several free forum scripts available. I use SMF and love it.