I ended up switching my X-Arcade default stick out for a Sanwa Cherry JLF. It's great for most games, has a working 4-way restrictor, but is pretty sensitive. It works pretty well for shooters and fighting games, but I hardly play those. You can probably get another one pretty cheap that works just as well, if not better. Ultimately, I got it because it was recommended when I said I wanted a ball top. It did also require a universal mounting plate to get it lined up with the X-Arcade holes like other people said, but drilling your own would work, too.
The X-Arcade was still the route I went just because, like others said, it was a really cheap way to get started quickly. The joystick was pretty bad, but it is very plug-and-play. Although someone else joked about the number of buttons, it is somewhat useful when you are as lazy as I am and want to assign a bunch of shortcuts like reset, save, snapshot, etc. I use two buttons for games, and the rest are mapped in conjunction with holding the 2-player coin button on the right side to create my shortcuts so I don't accidentally hit them. You could do that with other sticks, too, I'm sure. It is not the most comfortable piece of hardware, but it's not terrible, either. I would recommend a cheap laptop desk (which I already had), a table, stand, or something to rest it on for longer gameplay sessions. If nothing else, having it on a surface keeps it from sliding around your lap, which most folks agreed with during our IGBY bbq.
Hope that helps.
