It is early and I haven't had coffee yet so please bear with me, future edits likely
For fresh hot peppers I mostly use Jalapenos and Serranos but occasionally Thai peppers, Cherry Bombs, or Habaneros. It is largely an availability question since I don't grow peppers every year.
The list of dried peppers is longer:
Urfa Biber, this Turkish pepper isn't terribly hot but it has an unusual smokey, almost chocolatey flavor with some black tea and raisin notes.
Aleppo-style peppers, burgundy to bright red in contrast to the deep purplish Urfa Biber, slightly similar flavor profile and heat but more bright citrus notes and little to none of the chocolate and black tea notes. Grown in Turkey these days since the tragedy in Syria.
Spanish Paprika, I use both the sweet and hot versions, both smokey.
Kashmiri peppers, low to medium heat, bright red, fruity
Chile de Arbol, another often bright red dried pepper, typically fairly hot
Chipotle, dried, smokey, Jalapeno, low to medium heat
Ancho, dried, smokey, Poblano, low heat
Guajillo, another dried smokey chili, ballpark Jalapeno/Chipotle heat, but with brighter and sweeter notes.
Tien Tsin, IME the dried pepper most commonly found in Sichuan and Hunan cuisine at least in North America, moderately hot.
I've grown a number of other peppers over the years. Here in the not blazingly hot north I've found that hot peppers tend to do better in containers rather than in the ground. It could be a matter of sharper drainage but I rather suspect that higher root zone temperatures is the primary variable.
With all hot peppers you have to go by taste as the heat level is not all that predicable. The only time I've had significant chile "burns" on my hands was from handling fresh Poblanos which typically aren't all that hot. Growing conditions and plant genetics can make a significant difference as can freshness with dried chiles. The labeling on Asian dried chiles is also not entirely reliable IME.
