For nice, local stuff there's a horror themed restaurant in my city. Looks gimmicky, but serves the best burgers I've ever had. The only issue is the place is packed around typical lunch and dinner times.
For chain stuff that's a more above average I always go with Red Robin.
For fast food my usual pick is Culver's, a mid-west chain. Their quality isn't one hundred percent consistent, though never bad. When they get it good they nail it. I've had burgers from there that taste almost like they're medium-well and it's delicious for fast food.
Whataburger has that retro aesthetic that never seems to go away, I also think their pickled Jalapeno's are more flavorful than what you'd get at a cheap nacho stand.
I also like this old school place called Griffs, creepy ass clown mascot but their patties tend to have a good crispiness around the edges.
There's a joint in Arlington, TX called the Grease Monkey. They have a basic burger selection but are pretty freaking delicious, if a slightly off bun to meat ratio.
White Castle's my favorite. Honorable mentions are Burger King and McDonalds.
Also, when I was 8, there used to be a restaurant that was short lived called Quik's. They had REALLY good burgers and cheese fries. Shame it only lasted for a year...
After the guy who owned the tailgating bar near my college dorm apparently got shot by the guy who owned McAfee antivirus (no, seriously), they turned it into a burger joint creatively called "Burger U."
...that being said, still some of the best burgers I've ever had, and they had a great student discount AND garlic fries. Really miss the place.
When I go out for one, I go for Fosters Freeze burgers with a cup of chili on the side.
At home, I do a half pound patty with sharp cheddar and bacon strips on sourdough.
My brother makes inhumanly good hamburgers. I really don't know how he does it.
Aside from that, the best hamburger I ever had was in France. It was the only thing I could read on the menu that wasn't fish. They had this sauce that I'm pretty sure was just the perfect ratio of ketchup and mayo, the meat was cooked perfectly, the bun was not too large but not depressingly small. The waiter hated us for not speaking French, but they still made a damn good burger.
So far I prefer restaurant made hamburgers. If I can't get make it home, then I'll go to the restaurant and order a hamburger. Rail City in Sparks, NV had this hamburger served with extra fries called "Burger Burger Fry Fry". Basically it was a hamburger with two thick patties, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and pickles. Not bad for a casino burger.
There's a new fast casual place that opened here called b.good(founded by 03bgood maybe?). You can get smoked gouda on your burgers there. It's my new favorite burger place.