Here's an article I caught a few days ago, and though it's talking best burger, not best joint, it did give props to In and Out. Best Burgers in the U.S. | Kitchen Daily

I think the divide is in what you mean by "joint."

No one really expects *all that much* from a fast-food place.

There's a place not too far from where I live called "big mouth burger" that is really good, bit it's a far cry from fast food. It's a local chain with a few locations. Not cheap, not fast, but very good.

For fast food, In and Out is better than most, but their real claim to fame is that they are relatively healthy. No nuke-em burgers (burger king) or mystery mash up of cows (mickey d's) and their fries aren't as bad for you either...but the fries are pretty bland. Let's face it, fat tastes good, what?

When I'm around them (usually Phoenix area), Whataburger is pretty good as well for fast food. The Carls Jr. stores around here aren't that great for burgers, most of them in CA are partnered with the Green Burrito and I usually end up ordering from that menu if I go there.

Five Guys burgers are okay, but again, not fast food. I really, really like their fries, though.

I haven't been there in there in 30-odd years, but The Purple Turtle in Phoenix used to have excellent burgers. (It's really more of a bar & grill.)

All of that said, I don't eat a whole lot of red meat anymore, burgers included. My GF and I had a cookout over the weekend with a bunch of people over and we used the patties from Costco, which were okay. The fat content must be pretty significant, because they went from very, very large to burger size pretty quickly. But they tasted good, though not as good as the chicken I marinated and cooked.