Hard disk recovery recommendations

[John Foust]

>From the recent discussion about data recovery from hard drives,
was there a recommendation for a company that performs well at
fair prices?  I'd like to keep a company in mind for recommending
to clients when they're in dire straits.

I looked around on the web for resources regarding data recovery,
and by far most of the words out there are related to sales pitches
for the companies offering the service.  I don't think I found any
less-potentially-biased info from amateurs.

Safe for amateurs like us:

 If the drive is working, data recovery tools like http://www.r-tt.com/

 Software-based tools like SpinRite www.grc.com 

 Logic-board swapping between identical models of HD

Not safe or smart for amateurs:

 Platter swapping

- John