I'm a bit of a shoe whore and have tried a bunch

Alpine Stars (Tek 1) I love them but they are pricey
Pilotis (LMP)are comfortable but with a thick/wide sole
Lico these were Sparco's "off" brand, decent for cheap if you can still find them
Pumas (Future Cat) super nice....super expensive, kind of hard to find

people expect different things out of their shoes, some people use them as consumables so they just want something cheap and easily replaceable. Me, i want them to be comfortable as I am nervously pacing around before gridding and nice and skinny so my biggish feet don't bang around on the pedals while I trying to hump my dinosaur around the track, I try to find the nicest stuff that I can on close-out and keep it as long as they last.