I use cgminer because it supports scrypt and GPUs (well, up to v3.7.2), which most of the newer altcoins are based on. It's also pretty darned simple to get running and still has a lot of options 

It's my general understanding that attempting to mine BTC these days probably isn't worth it (at least not without A LOT of hash power).

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong however.

good luck!