I'm a huge fan of Isengard. Sauron's a very powerful magic wielder. Uruk Crossbow's mow down a lot of enemies with ease. Uruk Warbands are versatile because they're strong, have good C, and are very tough, you can chuck 'em into a lot of situations safely. Enemy cavalry? Meet Uruk Phalanx. 'Nuff said. The models are also pretty good, and paint up to a very good standard very quickly (use the simple step-by-step guide on The GW website, but do the straps on the boots and the like with Snakebite leather). There are three battlehosts especially that have a lot of flavour and are effective. Top of the tree is The Fighting Uruk Hai, composed of units you would gladly consider in any force anyway, but gives you a 6+ 'save' and makes you virtually immune to terror! Then there's Scouts of Saruman and Ugluk's Scouts, both fun, both useful. Here's hoping the dreadful-to-assemble Uruk Ballista will come out soon in Finecast.
Second up, Mordor is generally considered 'The Best' army. The Ringwriath are exctremely powerful for such cheap units. There are perhaps more heroes and legendary formations than you'll find anywere else, and the list has so many options, you can make any kind of list you wish with Mordor, and it's likely gonna ave a very good chance of winning. Battlehosts like The Gorgoroth Orc Horde or my fave, The Knights of Umbar, are great. Siege Bows are a steal for 50 points, and there are so many effective options (again, thoughts return to The Ringwraiths, Gothmog et al) that you have to actively restrain yourself from fielding the big hitters unless you want to create a list that is blatently more-than-just-relatively competitive.
In any case, the excellent allies rule means any army in WotR CAN be effective, thugh Angmar is generally considered to be the trickiest army to use (Though The Spirit LEgions of Angmar Battlehost goes a long way to rectifying the inherent problems in the list, they can take Wriaths, and make good use of allies).
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Also it gives you a good idea of how skilled you're becoming as it has a steep learning curve. I like Fallen Realms because I enjoy playing an evil army not made up of Orcs, Goblins or Uruk-hai. In many ways, Fallen Realms is also a highly versatile army with the ability to field the heavy infantry of the Easterlings, the deadly archers of Harad, the dreaded Morgul Knights and the elephantine Mumakil.