My favorite finish is the one someone else does!
I'm with Carol for sure!!
Thing is no one else will finish my stuff, so it usually falls to me
For spinny stuff, I use a lot of different stuff, as I find some woods work better with some finishes.
The open pore, toothy grained woods like Keyaki (Japanese Elm) I find does poorly with wax, it just clogs it up, I like a few coats of sanding sealer, then rattle can lacquer, I really try to stay away from Poly, I agree it looks plasticy but it is durable, so for some things, I will use a wipe on version of a water based Poly, it is actually made for floors, so it is tough, but I find if I add about 5% of a fairly concentrated mixture of a yellow water dye it really can warm up the poly so it does not look so plasticy.
In the past, I used a fair bit of sanding sealer and then just turners wax, buffed on, but I have seen some of my bowls that where done like this maybe two years ago, and they have gone splotchy, so I had to take them back, and refinish them.
For bowls or "Art" object, that just sit, then a good rattle can lacquer, is fine, but if it is a bowl that is meant to be used, like a salad bowl etc, then what I've come to really like is a finish that was shown to me by Eli Avisera, from Israel, a mix of mineral oil and beeswax. I mix maybe 40% wax and 60% oil. I find this goes on nice and leaves a more robust finish than just mineral oil. If I give someone a bowl, I also give them a small container with some of the Eli wax in it, and tell them to wipe some on from time to time with a paper towel, it does not take much. One final thing that I do especially for a finish on things like salad bowls is I add a few drops of lemon oil, it just smells nice and fresh, when you first give the bowl to someone they get this nice lemon fragrance from the bowl, and most people comment on that positively.
I also find I'm liking Waterlox oil better than than Watco, as a hardening oil on bowls, this finish can really take a rough life too, but on lighter woods I don't like how even the "Natural" oil can darken a piece.
On flatwork, I use mainly Shellac, I have really come to like it for a finish, even if I only use it on the first coat, then change to a wipe on warmed up Poly or a rattle can lacquer.
Lots of finishes out there!