Well VC++,DevC++ and CODE::BLOCKS are great.And in case you don't like them you can always go back to good'ol Linux for g++.

Well, actually Dev-C++ and Code::Blocks are both IDEs featuring the MinGW compiler, a port of the GNU Compiler Collection.
(e.g: g++, gcc)

Dev-C++ is not really recommended any more because it is no longer being updated and is already several years old.

>>i.e. not for beginars.
If you want to spend the $$$ for it, then buy a copy of VC++ 2008 Professional. Borland C++ Builder is also considered pretty good.

I use MinGW/Cygwin with the Netbeans IDE.

Brew one yourself. Certainly not for beginners.

I'd definitely suggest going with G++. MinGW is the port of that for Windows. And as Ancient Dragon said, please don't go for DevC++. That died back in 2005 and so it hasn't been updated since.

Best Compiler? That's pretty subjective. Not good at compilers but MINGW and VC++ are really big. They work BIG and many apps are compiled by them. I recommend Code::Blocks as it allows you to use any compiler you wish!

Not for beginners MIGHT be an alias for Visual C++ Pro Edi$$ion
$o, go for it

I like M$ compilers because of its excellent debugging. You can debug anything that you write, including DLLs, windows services, and COM programs. By debug I mean it will let you single step through a program one line at a time and view the value of all know variables as well as see the order of program execution. That alone is worth the cost of VC++ (any edition) to the professional programmer whose time is very important.