In my area, Verizon is garbage. Service goes out all the time, and their customer service is non-existant. Even though Earthlink is $20 more a month, the service rarely goes out, the customer support people seem to be better trained (at least in customer relations), and they give you 20 hours a month of dial-up in case your DSL goes out. More money, but it's well worth it.
As always, YMMV.