There are a bunch of boutique brands that cost a lot, and are excellent guns. Sphinx is an example of this.

I'll view from a production series; the best gun designs intended to be widely produced. I choose major companies, that made their own designs, not brands making clones or copies. So, CZ instead of Sphinx.

The pinnacle of the handgun is the late 20th century, to me: engineering and design that still matches current guns, but still designed around steel and/or alloys, instead of the switch to polymer. It's just my opinion, but plastic is just "good enough", while steel is premium. Hi-cap, DA/SA, mag release where you want it.

CZ: 85
Beretta: 92FS
Sig: P226
S&W: 5906
Walther: P88
HK: P7

FN: Hipower; points taken off for no DA

Star: M30; a fine gun, but not quite as prestigious a company, and now gone.

Ruger: P84/89; another solid gun, from a solid but not top-tier company.

Zastava: CZ99; surprisingly good pistol, from a company that is relatively obscure in the West (Zastava is respectable in Europe). Along with the CZ 75, Sig P226 and Beretta 92, it's one of the few that is still in production today (EZ9), and I give it points for that.

Daewoo: DP-51. This is South Korea's entry into the mix, and is still being marketed by Lionheart.

Glock: 19. This was never a metal frame brand, and is the breakthrough polymer gun.

IMM: HS2000. This is the main polymer alternative to Glock, and is marketed here as the Springfield XD. Obscure Croatian company that seemingly has struck gold in the market. I'd say it deserves a mention, in that this is one of the few polymer guns that is significantly better than the same company's metal gun (The PHP).

Others: either these are brands that you would want to upgrade from if given the choice (Bersa, Taurus), or make guns that are essentially imitations of the guns above (again, Taurus). Some might be excellent, but they aren't leading the way.

edit to clarify:you might consider the Zastava CZ99 a "copy" of the Sig P226 or Walther P88; I chose to leave it separate. To me, the ambidextrous controls and the combined decocker/slide release provide enough difference, making it a gun that resembles others, instead of a copy.