My personaly favorite would have to be inferno because I love the environment. The buildings are so much fun to look at, a great blend of being indoors and outdoors, and everytime I play on it, its just such a great experience wether im winning or losing because of how creative people get with their smokes and nades and even positioning.
When it comes to wanting a balanced map I always prefer Mirage, mainly because D2 is really overplayed and mirage is equally if not more balanced. The one thing that really shines on this map is the creativity of how to take bomb sites as a terrorist whenever i play pub matches. some people want to copy what pro's do, Others just go balls in without smokes or nades, and some try to trick the defending team by throwing smokes and flashes B then sneaking underpass, catching any rotaters out of position, than quickly taking A.
I do truely enjoy most of the maps because they all have their niche traits about them, but these two maps are the two that come to mind first.
The map i play the most is Dust 2, but the best is cobblestone! :)