If I am hopping on my bike to ride a mile to town, I won't use chamois cream. Otherwise, for any "real" ride, even if it's only 10 miles, I use it and it really does make a difference for me. I spread a generous amount all over my chamois.

I am trying different kinds -- I wouldn't say I have a favorite yet. I've used Assos -- I like the menthol actually, but interestingly, unlike Aica, I found it to disappear faster than Chamois butt'r in sweaty environments. I've used Chamois Butt'r and it's fine (I'd like to try the Eurostyle version). I actually use Body Glide frequently and I think it works pretty well. It's the least messy option, although you can't reapply it hygenically like you can with the creams. However, it's quite long lasting, so it's less likely that you would need to.

Anyway, I haven't tried anything I've hated yet... Except someone here recommended Astroglide as a chamois lubricant. I tried that and it just didn't work for me -- it was gone in about 10 miles. It seemed to me to sweat off much faster than actual chamois cream.