I've been playing with X3 for a long time (several thousand hours - my steam count is off by an order of magnitude due to glitches and offline play), although I'm far from an expert, and far from a 'skilled player'. I have, however, done a lot of research and a lot of reading about the game. Over the years, many sources of information have vanished from the internet, and so I felt I should write down what I knew before it became any more difficult to relearn. This is therefore a compilation of my notes in the eternal quest to answer 'what is the best ship'.

Of course, there is no 'best ship'. The answer varies based on the situation, resources available, purpose you're using it for, player skills, and personal preferences. So instead, what I present is a list of 'notable ships', a curated selection out of the over 300 available in the game. These are ships that either stand out in their class for a common purpose, and/or are unique or difficult to acquire. Hopefully, you'll find information of value. I welcome any and all contributions, especially to fill in the large gaps in my own knowledge.

The ships of X3 are each assigned a classification according to their role, design, and size. The military vessels are M- and the civilian ones are T-. Initially, this was a pretty intuitive ranking, going directly by size:

M5 - The smallest ships in the game, 'scout ships', also the fastest (with some exceptions). Very poor combat capabilities, capable of losing even to barely-armed transports.
M4 - 'Interceptors', intended for anti-fighter use. In practice, an M3 will generally beat an M4, so they aren't actually very useful. For the player, they can be a good stepping stone while working their way up to something larger, or can be useful 'cannon fodder' for a carrier, if you can't afford to frequently replace and outfit M3s. For the AI, they're 'filler' and distractions, buying time for the bigger ships to deal with a target.
M3 - 'Fighters', these ships are capable of dealing enough damage to destroy nearly anything if given enough time, while being nimble enough to evade many threats. A good choice for a skilled player. Not as good a choice if (like me) you have poor dogfighting skills. Some of these also have enough cargo capacity and speed to function as well-armed trading vessels.
M2 - 'Destroyers', these ships are many times the size of the fighter class, with powerful, slow weapons mainly intended for use against other 'capital' ships. Generally too slow to be useful as player ships, and somewhat boring to fly, as much of their firepower is in AI-controlled turrets.
M1 - 'Carriers', these ships are intended to carry and support large quantities of fighters.

In addition, there were several classes of civilian ships:
TS - Transport ships, mainly used for trading, with some side use in mining and logistics. Very limited combat capabilities.
TP - Passenger transport ships, used for ferrying passengers. These are generally faster than TSes, but have smaller holds and somewhat better combat capabilities. There are certain in-game 'taxi' missions that can /only/ be completed by a TP.
TL - Station transports, enormous ships used to construct stations. They have huge cargo capacity, but cannot dock at many stations, limiting their utility as trade ships. They also boast sizable hangers, making them a poor mans carrier, and so are often used by players as early mobile bases.

As time (and expansions) passed, new ship classes were constructed. This broke the simple scale by size in the original classification.

M6 - 'Corvettes'. Capable of dealing effectively with both fighters and capital ships, with an impressive combination of firepower and speed. These are one of the top choices for player main ship, since they can go toe to toe with most other ships or even entire battlegroups, and have good speed.
M7 - 'Frigates'. The smallest proper capital ships, they can fill a number of roles, and thus are further broken down into three subcategories: base M7s, M7C 'pocket carriers', and M7M 'missile frigates. These are another popular choice for player main ship, as they can potentially deal with any threat in the galaxy, while boasting good cargo capacity and comfortable speed.
M8 - 'Bombers'. I think these are intended to be a cheap solution for taking down capital ships, but I don't think they get a lot of use.
TM - 'Military Transports'. Small, decently armed cargo ships capable of carrying 3-6 fighters to support them, they're another popular choice for player main ship. They're also excellent for all sorts of logistical support.

The various factions of X3 also introduced improved versions of several previous classes, which are generally better in every respect: M4+, M5+, M6+, and M2+, as well as superlarge freighters classed as TS+, and a new generation of TPs that are unofficially designated as TP+. I have not broken most of these out in the guide below, as they fill the same roles as the base class, but are notably more expensive (and generally require more faction reputation to purchase).

• The Teladi Kestrel is the third-fastest ship in the game, and the fastest purchaseable/capturable ship. This makes it an excellent player ship for scouting, dispersing satellites, and etc.
  
• Possibly the strongest M5 in combat, due to its speed and armament. Capable of carrying Remote Guided Warheads, Silkworm Missiles, and PACs. Has a rear turret. Can out-speed almost any missile.
  
• Has a habit of pasting itself against asteroids when on auto-pilot, due to its extreme speed. Utter garbage in OOS combat, and not great in AI hands in general.
  
• Three versions: Normal version has best cargo cap; Pirate version is fastest. Advanced version can use EBCs.
  
• Standard version is available from most Teladi shipyards for 224k credits at Company Trader.
  
• Pirate version is capturable from pirates if you can hit them and not one-shot them.
  
• Is Advanced version actually in the game?

• The first and second fastest ships, respectively, but they cannot carry weapons, adv. satellites, passengers, or triplex scanners, making them a poor choice for.. just about everything.
  
• Both of these ships are rewards from the Shady Business plot; cannot be acquired otherwise.

I don't have many opinions on M4s - it seems like the primary use is as carrier fighters, which I don't have much experience with fielding.

• Fairly beefy for an M4, with decent firepower. A good choice for carrier use?
  
• Purchase from Legends Home for 1.3m credits at Confirmed Friend.

• The beefiest M4. Poor firepower, but a good distraction.
  
• Not purchasable - capture or buy used.

• A decent enough ship for carrier use, made dramatically better by one thing:
  
• Due to an apparent typo by the developers, it is priced competitively with the cheapest M5s, and about 1/20th the price of a comparable M4.
  
• Purchasable from (which Paranid shipyards?) for 70.9k credits at (what rank?).

M3 have a lot of options, many of which are quite solid as early-game fighters, escorts, or carrier flightgroups. Where M4 was lacking in interesting choices, M3 has way too many. I'm highlighting a few noteworthy ones, but I'm definitely curious for other input.

• The fastest non-M5 in the game, and faster than most M5s. Pretty insane speed.
  
• Capable of equipping the powerful Terran weaponry - EEMPCs and PMAMLs.
  
• Terran weaponry can be difficult to acquire, however.
  
• Like the Kestrel, has an unfortunate habit of pasting itself onto other ships and asteroids.
  
• Available from Aldrin for 2.9m credits at Marshall of Mars.

• Enormous cargobay, good speed. Excellent speed with a good 'roll' on overtunes in Tormented Teladi.
  
• Only available from the Tormented Teladi start in X3:AP. Comes overtuned, can reload save before completed the quest for a good 'roll' on its speed.

• Large XL-class cargo bay. Okay speed.
  
• Good shields; solid OOS ship.
  
• Very useful as a cheap 'cargo ship' that can dock on any ship with a hangar. Can serve as resupply, as a miner, or any number of other non-combat purposes.
  
• Purchasable from CEO's Sprite, Ministry of Finance, and PTNI Headquarters for 2.8m credits at Shareholder.

• Very potent combat ship, capable of carrying both commonwealth and some terran weaponry.
  
• Only available from completing the Albion Prelude plot.

• Fast, lots of firepower, good shields. A best-in-class 'space superiority' fighter capable.
  
• Poor missile selection limits its potency against capital ships.
  
• Purchasable from Mars, The Moon, and Megnir for 5.4m credits at Servant of Terra.

• Very strong against other fighters.
  
• Good for capping fighters and transports.
  
• Must be captured or built at PHQ.

• Fast. Low shields. Can dish a lot of damage w/ PBGs.
  
• Must be captured or built at PHQ.

• Boasts the largest shield capacity of any M3 - 200MJ, comparable to an M6.
  
• Is pretty unremarkable otherwise, and a bit on the slow side for an M3.
  
• Must be captured or built at PHQ.

• The fastest M3 outside of a Spitfyre (tied with the hard-to-get Susanowa Prototype).
  
• Has good firepower, and almost no shields.
  
• Purchasable at Family Pride, Family Rhy, Patriarch's Conclusion, Rhonkar's Might, Rhonkar's Trial, and Zyarth's Dominion for 3.0m credits at Family Friend.

I have no experience at all with the M8 class, but as missile boats, it appears the two major factors in choosing one are cargo space and durability.

• As the M8 with the most shield capacity (nearly double the second place!) and cargo space, I think it just wins?
  
• Purchasable from Legend's Home for 5.7m credits at Federation Guardian.

• Dramatically faster than the other ships of the class, at 175 m/s.
  
• Smallest cargo and shield capacity. But the choice if you want a more active flying experience in an M8 - can 'dogfight' somewhat effectively, and good for hit-and-run tactics.
  
• Purchasable from Rhonkar's Trial, Patriarch's Conclusion, and Zyarth's Stand for 5.4m credits at Family Protector.

I've spent the most time in X3 tooling around in my Overtuned Hyperion Vanguard. This class has a very good combination of cargo space, speed, and firepower, making it an excellent choice for player ship. There are a number of legitimate choices, but two definitely stand above the others:

• The fastest M6 in the universe. Faster than every ship in the game other than /some/ of the M5s and the Spitfyre M3.
  
• Have I mentioned it is fast? It's really fast.
  
• Second best cargo capacity among the M6s.
  
• Can use PM/AMLs for main guns to eat through larger ships, and PSSCs in the turret slots to wreck fighters. Has plenty of cargo space for missiles and other utility/cargo.
  
• Like that Kestrel and Spitfyre, can easily paste itself onto asteroids. Unlike the Kestrel and Spitfyre, has enough shields to come out the winner in 'accidental' collisions with M5s and M4s.
  
• Purchasable from Aldrin for 6.1m credits at Warrior of Io.

• Largest cargo space of the M6s. 3000 cargo space is almost equal to a low-end TS, at substantially higher speed.
  
• Tankiest M6 - tied for highest shields, has the highest hull.
  
• Fast - third fastest M6, and just barely behind the second place Split Dragon.
  
• Two docking bays, for carrying captured ships, a scouting kestrel, or the like. Can also be used for even more cargo space - a pair of Keas is an extra ~800 cargo capacity.
  
• 8 forward facing main guns, two forward facing turrets, and two rear mount turrets. It can pack a ton of firepower.
  
• Forward guns can field a wide array of weapons, including HEPTs (my usual choice), CIGs, EBCs (ammo-based, but very energy friendly), PBEs (shield stripping and capping), and PBGs (mass AoE, friendly fire).
  
• Forward turrets can use HEPTs or EBCs. Rear turrets are stuck with PACs.
  
• Can use Terran Wraith missiles, and can match their speed, allowing it to 'stack' them and unleash enormous burst damage on a capital ship target.
  
• An Overtuned Hyperion is a reward for the Poisoned Paranid start. It can potentially have max speeds up to 250.3, though 220ish is more realistic without an insane amount of reloads or a borrowed save file.
  
• Not purchasable, but can be captured in Paranid space and reverse engineered at the PHQ.

Honorable mentions:

• Carries fewer total guns than the Hyperion, but has a more versatile selection, capable of (for example) mounting PBGs in every slot, including its turrets.
  
• Fairly small cargobay, but decent speed and durability.
  
• Not purchasable, but can be captured in Argon space and reverse engineered at the PHQ.

• 10(!) M/AMLs or EMPCs up front, plus 4 EMPC turrets. The strongest forward-facing damage dealer of the M6 class.
  
• Mediocre speed, cargo. Strong shields, medium hull.
  
• A good choice for OOS with 14x EMPCs?
  
• Purchasable from Saturn and Unknown Sector (15,10) for 8.9m credits at (what rank?).

For all of my many hours in X3, I have spent very little time actually /flying/ capital ships, so my notes here are mainly based on theory and research, even moreso than previous sections.

There are three types of Frigate - the basic 'M7', the pocket carrier 'M7C', and the missile frigate 'M7M'. I will be breaking these out separately, as they can offer come pretty different utility.

• The general consensus for 'best player M7', due to its good weapon loadout and impressive hanger bay.
  
• One of the fastest M7s, at a pretty reasonable 121 m/s.
  
• Can stock 20 M3s for an impressive fighter wing.
  
• Purely turret based armaments.
  
• Weak hull, medium shields.
  
• Can mount PALCs in the rear turret and 'kite' larger, slower enemies, staying out of range and allowing the PALCs to burn them down.
  
• Can mount IBLs in the forward turrets for heavy damage output.
  
• Purchasable from Patriarch's Conclusion, Family Rhy, and Zyarth's Stand for 36.5m at Privileged Associate of Rhonkar.

• Very similar to the Panther. Trades several turrets and its entire hanger bay for slightly better laser recharge and a set of 8 bridge-controlled main guns (as opposed to the Panthers 6 turrets).
  
• Purchasable from Cho's Defeat, Family Njy, Family Pride, Family Rhy, Family Tkr, and Rhonkar's Might for 36.5m at Privileged Associate of Rhonkar.

• Can mount 10(!) PPCs in its forward guns, allowing it to dish some amazing DPS to other capital ships.
  
• Huge, fairly slow, garbage laser recharge make it very vulnerable to things that survive its initial volleys and get into range.
  
• Gorgeous. I am quite partial to Boron designs in general, and the Thresher is one of the prettiest.
  
• Purchasable from any Boron shipyard for 38.2m credits at Queen's Protectorate.

• Good all-round stats. Can mount PSGs to do massive damage to everything - friend and foe alike.
  
• Good for OOS, where the friendly fire problem is a non-issue.
  
• Not available for purchase, must be captured or built at the PHQ.

I admit I'm a little unsure what exactly the M7C class are for. The Panther M7 has a larger fighter wing than all but one M7C, as well as superior firepower. So I'm mostly regurgitating other peoples opinions here, as I don't have much useful input myself.

• Tankiest (boasting more shields than the other four M7Cs combined), smallest, and most maneuverable M7C. Also 2-3x more expensive than the rest of its class.
  
• Smallest hanger bay (9 M3s).
  
• Not effective against capital ships without relying on missiles.
  
• Purchasable from Argon Prime, Argon Sector M148, Cloudbase South East, and Legend's Home for 36.2m credits at (what rank?).

• Garbage direct combat stats, but decent speed (122.0 m/s).
  
• 24(!) hanger bay slots for M3s, and the ability to dock a single TS or TP, making it easily the carrierest of the pocket carriers.
  
• Can carry a Mistral Super Freighter, whilst moving at 50% greater speed than the Mistral would be capable of, for when you need to move a large amount of cargo very quickly.
  
• Purchasable from Cardinal's Domain for 18.7m credits at (what rank?).

• The fastest M7C, at 132 m/s.
  
• Hangar can carry 12 fighters and a single TS or TP, making it one of the small handful of ships capable of doing so (Guppy, Ariadne, Aran, Ozias, and Valhalla).
  
• Purchasable from Lucky Planets for 16.4m credits at Queen's Knight.

Missile frigates may be the deadliest ships in the game, if you can afford to supply their missile barrages. "It costs four hundred thousand dollars to fire this weapon...for twelve seconds." M7Ms (with the exception of the Aquilo and Skirnir) are also the only ships that can fire boarding pods, and M7Ms are capable of carrying 20-30 marines to make use of this.

• Highest cargo capacity and shield capacity. These are the most important stats for a missile frigate, and it is arguably the most powerful offensive ship in the game.
  
• Cannot utilize boarding pods.
  
• At a cargo size of 20 and a price of about 50k per Shadow Missile, filling your hold to 85% with these will cost roughly 20m. That is enough for 500 salvos. A single 16-missile salvo costs nearly a million credits.
  
• A single salvo can output roughly 9m damage, if all 16 missiles land. Three salvos is enough to take down any ship in the game. The only ships capable of surviving /two/ such salvos are the Megalodon (barely), Kyoto, Xenon I, and Valhalla.
  
• Purchased from The Moon for 51.4m credits at (what rank?).

• The prettiest M7M.
  
• More versatile than the Skirnir (can use boarding pods).
  
• Can still murder everything. Who cares if it's less optimal?
  
• Purchased from Queen's Retribution for 51.0m credits at (what rank?).

• A somewhat different animal - cannot use missiles other than Mosquitoes. Carries minimal weaponry (2x EBC or FAA in the rear turrets).
  
• Can carry 30 marines, instead of the normal 20.
  
• Used exclusively for boarding operations, after the target has been disabled by other craft.
  
• Purchasable from Legend's Home for (what price?) at (what rank?).

They're big, they have incredible firepower, and they are painfully slow. Most players prefer to pilot an M6, M7, or M7M. There's no question, however, that an M2 is devastating under manual control. They're also effective, albeit expensive, way to lock down a sector against Xenon, pirate, or other hostile intrusion. The up front costs of ships and weaponry are oppressive, but once purchased and kitted out, they require less ongoing maintenance and expense than an M1 or M7M.

From what I have gathered, pretty much all of the M2s are viable. That makes this a pretty tough section to write.

• General consensus for 'strongest player-driven M2'.
  
• Can carry a whopping 40 anti-capital weapons - 32 PPCs and 8 IBLs..
  
• One of the fastest M2s, at 62 m/s.
  
• A more 'reasonable' loadout for general use is 32 PPCs and 8 FAAs, to deal with fighter wings.
  
• Purchasable from Legend's Home for 91.1m credits at Federation Overwatch.

• Can mount 24 PSPs and 24 SSCs.
  
• Very strong reactor, capable of sustaining continuous fire of every weapon for 75 seconds, and continuous fire of just the PSPs indefinitely.
  
• Highest shields of the M2, higher even than the M2+ Valhalla.
  
• The best choice for OOS sector patrols, can be used to lock out Xenon. (Groups of three recommended for anti-Q patrol?)
  
• Purchasable from Mars, The Moon, and Saturn for 74.8m credits at Guardian of Earth.

• Very similar to the Osaka. Slightly greater firepower. weaker hull, higher speed, limited cargo space.
  
• Can fill much the same role: OOS defense. Possibly preferable? Moderately more expensive.
  
• Purchasable from Megnir, Saturn, and The Moon for 95.7 credits at (what rank?).

• Versatile weapon selection. Can use 24 PPCs or Gauss Cannons; or can field Ion Cannons for shield stripping. 4-8 ion cannons up front can strip shields as it approachs, with 16-20 PPCs coming into play to finish the target off.
  
• Huge, presenting a big target for enemy fire.
  
• Very pretty.
  
• Purchasable from any Boron shipyard for 86.7 credits at King's Knight.

• 24 PSGs deal spectacular AoE devestation.
  
• Friends are over-rated.
  
• Purchasable from any Paranid station for 104.9m credits at Emperor's Protectorate.

• It's huge.
  
• Since enemies don't begin firing until the center of the ship is in range, and since the ship is 4km long, you can start unloading your front turrets 2km before the enemy realizes you're in range.
  
• A good ship to hide behind. Boasts the highest shields of a commonwealth M2.
  
• Purchasable from any Teladi shipyard for 69.3m credits at Venture Profiteer.

These are the biggest things in the game, bar the Aran. Difficult to acquire, incredibly slow, expensive to outfit, they're impractical but impressive and awesome. I will try to discuss all five of them.

• Gargantuan. The second slowest ship in the game (after the Aran). Has the greatest shields and hull in the game.
  
• Hangar bay capable of deploying 50 M3s, and 10 M6/M8/TS/TP/TM 'medium' ships. The second largest total hangar capacity in the game.
  
• Can mount 32 PSPs and 34 SSCs; more total guns than any other ship in the game.
  
• The combination of firepower and hangar capacity makes it the strongest M1 and M2 in one immense package.
  
• Incapable of passing through jump gates. It's too damn big... Need to either use Jump Beacons (hard to acquire) or ferry it around with the Aran.
  
• Cannot be purchased. Must be captured. Can only by constructed at a Terran PHQ. Good luck, have fun.

• The Commonwealth answer to the Valhalla. Mounts 42 guns.
  
• Gigantic. Has some collision problems, but can (barely) fit through gates.
  
• Can carry a small wing of 5 M3s in its hangar.
  
• Can be purchased from Kingdom End, Ocean of Fantasy, and Queen's Retribution for 128.5m credits at King's Knight.

• Similar weapons loadout to the Osaka, but tankier, a bit slower.
  
• Hangar capable of carrying 6 medium ships give it the ability to deploy a very powerful wing or dock superfreighters for fleet replenishment.
  
• Purchasable from the Moon for 154.2 credits at Guardian of Earth.

• The fastest M2+ by a fair margin, and, in fact, faster than any of its smaller M2 brethren, clocking a whopping 75 m/s.
  
• Can fire 16 PALCs and 8 PPCs continuously on a target in front of the ship, with an additional 4 PALCs mounted in a rear turret.
  
• Tanky and relatively fast, with the instant-hit PALCs make it arguably the best 'defensive' option of the M2+'s.
  
• Hangar bay capable of holding 16 M3's.
  
• Can be purchased from Zyarth's Stand, Patriarch's Conclusion, and Rhonkar's Trial for 92.6 credits at Inner Circle of Rhonkar.

• The second strongest shield generator (after the Aran), the second strongest laser generator (after the Kyoto), and the third highest shield total (after the Kyoto and Valhalla).
  
• Ten PPCs or PSPs in its forward turret, and an additional 30 guns in its flank turrets.
  
• Only non-M7M capable of launching a missile barrage; only three missiles, but has a wider variety of options than the M7Ms.
  
• Not purchasable, must be captured or built at the PHQ. The total cost of construction at the PHQ is surprisingly inexpensive - 1/3rd the cost of the roughly equivalent (power-wise) Valhalla.

Carriers... Opinion seems rather divided on which are best, possibly due to the variety of uses to which they can be put, or possibly because of the paucity of uses to which they can be put. A few seem to be mentioned more than others, though.

Starting with the big one. The biggest one:

• Enormous.
  
• Excrutiatingly slow. At a max speed of 12 m/s, it can be outrun by your character in his spacesuit.
  
• No weapons. Unable to even launch a mosquito in its defense.
  
• Hangar bay can dock up to 30 M6 or smaller ships - the only vessel other than the Valhalla capable of doing so (and the Valhalla can only hold 10).
  
• Has a single docking port capable of docking a capital ship up to and including a Valhalla or even a second Aran(!).
  
• Has the largest cargo bay in the game - even larger when you consider that it can dock 30 TS+ and a TL (or.. a second Aran).
  
• Primary use is as a mobile base and storage facility. Not really intended for combat use. But the ability to unload 30 M6 and a capital ship means that it can be pretty intimidating in combat, even if it is unable to directly participate, itself.
  
• Acquired via the unfocused jump drive and boarding it in the unknown sectors.
  
• Only one can be acquired in this manner. Tough choice whether to reverse engineer and reconstruct, or repair and use.

• Second fastest carrier; largest hangar size.
  
• Fragile.
  
• Capable of carrying up to 65 M3s.
  
• Purchasable from any Split shipyard for 80.3m credits at Inner Circle of Rhonkar.

• The fastest carrier.
  
• Even more fragile than the Raptor, but has slightly more firepower.
  
• Capable of carrying up to 40 M3s.
  
• Purchasable from Senator's Badlands for 79.7m credits.

• Probably the most combat-capable M1, boasting 16 PSPs (8 on each side).
  
• Carries a relatively small wing of 30 M3 fighters.
  
• Available from The Moon for 76.2m credits at (what rank?).

• The Shuri and Colossus are functionally identical.
  
• Good all-round carrier. Decent speed, decent shields.
  
• The second largest hangar bay, at 60 fighters.
  
• Purchasable from all Argon shipyards for 67.8m credits at Federation Overwatch.
  
• The Shuri can be captured in Weaver's Tempest.

With a few exceptions, most evaluation of the civilian ships can be done entirely on two factors: speed and cargo capacity. This makes them quite a bit simpler than the immense variety of weapon loadouts and other capabilities in the fighters.

Considering how much time I have spent staring at ship stats while writing this guide, this is an intense relief.

There are three schools of thought with respect to transports in X3:
1) Cargo is king. If you can buy out the entire inventory of a full-up station, you can turn a maximum profit.
2) Speed is king. If you arrive first at a station, you get the best deal. The key to maximizing profit is beating the competition to the punch.
3) Both are important, look at the ratio. That will tell you roughly your potential cargo moved per minute.
I personally lean towards school 2 or 3 for sector traders, and 1 for CLS/CAG - if your ship is sitting in the station waiting for the price to hit the purchase point, then larger inventory means more profit, and speed is irrelevant.

I'm going to provide a general range of ship sizes, focusing on the 'outliers', ships with particularly good speed for their cargo capacity. I am also not really distinguishing between TS's and TS+'s, since the line is pretty blurry - some of the 'super freighter' variant TS's are bigger than some TS+'s.

• The clear winner of category 2, with a speed of 130 m/s.
  
• A decent cargo capacity of 4000.
  
• A strong contender for category 3 - it doesn't strictly have the best cargo*distance/time ratio in the game, but the alternatives are mostly either hard to acquire or large/slow enough to be impractical for general usage.
  
• It is also relatively well armed and armored for a small transport.
  
• Purchasable from Legend's Home for 298k credits at Confirmed Friend.

• Completely unarmed.
  
• Speed of 120 m/s, cargo cap of 5000.
  
• Capturable (look for Argon Mineral Transporters).

• Speed of 99.9 m/s, cargo cap of 7000.
  
• Purchasable from Patriarch's Conclusion, Rhonkar's Trial, and Zyarth's Dominion for 873k credits at Comrade.

• Strictly inferior to the Drake in every respect - speed, cargo, weaponry, price - but available at a lower reputation requirement.
  
• Speed of 89.9, cargo cap of 10325.
  
• Purchasable from Family Njy, Patriarch's Conclusion, Rhonkar's Trial, and Zyarth's Dominion for 2.7m credits at Comrade.

• The fastest 'TS+', and very well armed to boot - give it EBCs and some ammo.
  
• Speed of 92.9, cargo cap of 12850.
  
• Purchasable from Family Rhy, Patriarch's Conclusion, Rhonkar's Might, Rhonkar's Trial, and Zyarth's Stand for 1.6m credits at Family Protector.

• Speed of 87.0, cargo cap of 14300.
  
• Purchasable from The Moon for 2.5m credits at Terran Warrior of Io.

• The largest cargo hold of any TS-class ship.
  
• Slow, pretty crappy in most other respects.
  
• Speed of 64 m/s, cargo cap of 16500.
  
• Purchasable from Queen's Retribution for 1.8m credits at (what rank?).

TLs have one primary purpose: to build stations. They can be put to other uses as well - freight storage, mining bases, mobile resupply. Pretty much every function is dependent on just two stats: speed and cargo capacity.

• The cheapest, fastest, and most popular TL. It also has the smallest cargo capacity, at a 'mere' 34,000 - more than double the largest TS+, and plenty enough to carry any station in the game.
  
• It has a respectable speed of 131.9 m/s.
  
• It can fire a wider variety of missiles than the other TLs, including the Firestorm and other capital class ordinance, giving it the ability to function as a 'poor mans M7M.
  
• These factors make it a good choice for a mobile home base in the early game.
  
• Purchasable from any Split shipyard except Family Tkr and Family Rhy for 17.4m credits at Distinguished Associate.

• If the Elephant is too small... These two ships are virtually identical, stat-wise, with a speed of 87.5 and a cargo capacity of 60000.
  
• The Mammoth is purchasable from any Argon shipyard for 28.5m credits at Trusted Ally.
  
• The MMBS is purchasable from Mars, The Moon, and Saturn for 28.6m credits at (what rank?).

• A personal favorite - very slightly slower than the Elephant at 120m/s, with a little more cargo space at 36000.
  
• Critically, does not require any rep above 'non-hostile', so can be acquired a fair bit earlier than the other TLs if you have the cash.
  
• Purchasable from Senator's Badlands for 20.4m,

• Enormous, with the second largest cargo bay in the entire game (behind only the Aran) - 80000.
  
• Suprisingly fast, with a speed of 112 m/s.
  
• Has difficulty with docking and passing through gates when IS, due to its massive size.
  
• Unarmed.
  
• Must be captured or built at the PHQ.

• Good speed and cargo space - 112.6 m/s and 52500, respectively.
  
• Excellent shielding, no weapons.
  
• Capable of docking up to 12 TS or TP ships.
  
• Only acquirable by capturing it during the Shady Business plot. Normally, this causes the mission to go down the 'evil' route - continuing the Argon/Terran war, but there is a trick to capture the Ozias and still get the 'good' ending.

TMs are versatile ships, capable of carrying a good amount of cargo, dealing a decent amount of damage, and supporting a wing of fighters. With the exception of the Chokaro, every TM can carry 4 M3s. The versatility and speed of the TMs make them a good choice for player ship (although they are likely to be supplanted by one of the popular M6's).

• The Yaki Chokaro boasts the largest cargo space of the TMs with 2500 capacity, and is very nearly tied for fastest at 154 m/s.
  
• It has a slightly smaller hangar bay, capable of carrying 3 ships instead of the usual 4.
  
• It can be purchased in Senator's Badlands for 458k credits.

• The Advanced Chokaro trades cargo space for 3 extra fighter slots, giving it the largest hangar of the TMs.
  
• It still boasts the second largest cargo space, at 1800 capacity.
  
• It can only be acquired by siding with the Yaki in the Shady Business plot (and thus prolonging the war).

• Strongest shields, strongest weapon loadout, lowest cargo capacity. Second or third place in every other characteristic.
  
• A solid choice for a player ship.
  
• Purchasable in Legend's Home for 475k credits at Accepted Advisor.

• Fastest TM - a hair faster than the Chokaro, at 154.9 m/s.
  
• A bit fragile, boasting only a single 200MJ shield, but has a decent weapon loadout.
  
• Purchasable from Cho's Defeat, Family Njy, Family Pride, Family Rhy, Family Tkr, and Rhonkar's Might for 450k credits at (what rank?).

TPs have three main uses: as small, fast transports, for completing passenger transport taxi missions, and as boarding vessels. They are capable of carrying 40 marines on board, but cannot use boarding pods, so care must be taken during boarding operations.

• Typical of a Split ship, the Ocelot is fast but fragile, with the highest speed of the TPs at 206 m/s.
  
• Can mount 8x EBCs in its forward mount, giving it quite a bit of firepower.
  
• Holds 850 cargo capacity.
  
• Purchaseable from Family Rhy, Patriarch's Conclusion, Rhonkar's Might, Rhonkar's Trial, and Zyarth's Stand for 1.3m credits at (what rank?).

• The Mani is capable of going 192 m/s, with a 1050 cargo capacity, making it a very good compromise between speed and cargo cap.
  
• It has high shields for a TP, and a pretty strong weapon loadout, although it lacks the laser capacity to operate its 12 EMPCs for very long.
  
• It is purchaseable from The Moon for 1.3m credits at (what rank?).

• The Geochen has the sturdiest shields of the TP class, and packs 4 PBGs up front and 4 EBCs on the side for an impressive amount of firepower for a TP.
  
• It's on the slower end of the TP class, at 148 m/s, and can carry a decent 1100 cargo capacity.
  
• It can be purchased from Ceo's Sprite for 1.5m credits at Company Manager.

• Has the largest cargo capacity of the TPs, at 1600, but is relatively slow at 155 m/s.
  
• Decent shields and okay weapon loadout.
  
• One of the prettiest ships in the game.
  
• Purchaseable from Queen's Retribution for 1.8m credits at Boron Queen's Guard.

The main external resources I used while researching this, besides my own experience and memory, were the following:

The X3 Wiki[x3.solasistim.net] - the website seems to be falling apart a bit, but much information is still there. Is easier to browse via google than via its own internal search/link system.

The X3TP.net ship database[x3ap-eng.x3tc.net] - some information appears to be inaccurate, but it is much easier to search and sort, and is much more complete with respect to 'alternate models' of ships.

Roguey's X3 Fansite[roguey.co.uk] - probably the one I used least for ship information, but is one of the best for general guides and information about plots and unlockables.

X3 Official Forums[forum.egosoft.com] - a ton of information is hidden in EgoSoft's forum archives. Google ferreted a lot out for me, and a couple threads informed quite a bit of this guide, at least in so far as telling me what qualities to look for in ships.

The X3 Reddit - there are several good threads and discussions on here, and it often came up in google searches about specific ships or classes.

There are also a couple guides on capturing specific ships that are relevant to my own:
How to capture the Goner Ozias and still end the war[forum.egosoft.com]

https://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=152550139