I currently have Logitech F310 and the hardware deadzones are pretty bad, if that’s the correct term.
What controllers do other people use?
I’m looking at official Xbox One controller and licensed Turtlebeach and PowerA. It’s mostly for GTA5 and DirtRally in WIndows7.
I would highly recommend 8bitdo - they are not only quite cheap, but are top quality, on par with the best of the rest. I would recommend one with HallEffect joysticks.
Niice I didn’t know they do modern controllers. I have done a bit of research on them when I was buying retro controllers (I ended up with retroflag) so I know they are supposed to be good.
GameSir and XBox One controller here.
It’s absolutely notable upgrading from the 30 to the 60+ Euro/USD class. You get a lot better sticks, which includes precision and dead zones.
8bitdo was already mentioned and hall-effect sticks are imho worth it too.
I bought 8BitDo PRO 2 G Classic for Switch. Works perfectly with Linux also.
That has the analogue sticks are in the same place as the Logitech I have. That’s something for me to think about.
I never had experience with expensive controllers until the Xbox Series.. whatever console controller and I was sorely, sorely disappointed. It does work natively with Linux though… I believe anything with XInput support will just… work, so yeah, pick your poison.
Many seem to like the Steam Controller. If I were you and I had the money for one, I would buy that. It seems to fix a lot of my gripes with using controllers in general for gaming in a nice, elegant, not super expensive package. It also has fantastic Linux support.
Back in the day, when they released GTA V for the PS3 first, and I bought an PS3 bundle with the game only for the purpose of playing GTA V on it. I simply do still like the PS3 DualShock3 SixAxis controller. Works just fine for me, even on linux via bluetooth in combination with Steam. The batteries still last quite long. I guess one of these could be picked up locally inexpensively. As a matter of fact, I think I got my current one from a flea market for a bargain, as I had sold the PS3 and the accessories when I was done with the game.
Anyhow, all I needed was disassembly with a proper cleaning. And surprisingly it not only cleaned up nicely, but the batteries somehow recovered, just needed an charging cycle.
Anyway, eventually I may end up with a PS5 on November 18th this year, due to … reasons 
I recommend 8 bitdo Ultimate 2 Wireless. It has drivers in kernel and works well with steam
I just recently bought a PS5 Dualsense for playing Hades, although I haven’t had the time yet to dedicate to it. How does this one compare to the rest of the suggestions here? It feels great, works without any hassles on Steam.
The PS5 pad is decent. It has got a good buildquality, but lacks in ergonomics quite a bit (which - in the end - is individual preference) and has old (but sturdy) technic. It has no Hall Effect Joysticks, hence it is prone to lockstick and wandering over time, and harder to clean. But it is decent, as mentioned.
It is hard nowadays to recomend something else than 8bitdo, because they are so good.
Another good options, that has Hall-Effect sticks are EasySMX controllers (look out some older ones are not Hall-Effect), they’re pretty durable and have Linux support.