Preface: Track tire preferences depend a little on what you're trying to accomplish. I'm not going for ultimate speed, but rather tires that will hold up over the course of multiple sessions and multiple track days. 20-minute track sessions are tough on tires. Some tracks are harder on tires than others. "Locally" (kind of local to Portland), we have 2 extremes. Portland is comparatively gentle on tires, while Pacific Raceways is brutal on tires (with both driven about the same way with a FWD hatch). I figure it has to do with the design of the tracks and the road surface conditions in combination. I have not been to The Ridge yet, but plan to get there this year. It's newer than the others and the surface at least won't be so brutal as PR.
In any event, I've used a number of tires (including Dunlop Direzza Star Specs, Toyo RA1s, Hoosier race tires, Nitto NT01s, Falken Azenis RT615s, Bridgestone Potenza S-04s and some Continental stockers).
IMHO, if you plan to visit track day events on any kind of regular basis, a set of track wheels is the way to go. Whether those are drive-to-track or mount-at track, it's worth the investment. I also have a preference for Nitto NT01s. They're tough to beat for the money. They hold up great in-session and (in my experience) last easily as long as any street tires. BUT: They are not good for drive-to-track tires (they basically turn into slicks after one track day and need to heat up to be safe).
I have some Bridgestone RE-11As for drive-to-track tires. I have not used them yet at the track. They are basically my summer street tires that would double for track use in a pinch (or if I am lazy). Next time, I think I'll get RE-71Rs for that purpose. I've ordered some 15x8 Team Dynamics wheels and am on the fence about making them my street wheels or my dedicated NT01 track wheels. Still TBD. If I went street use, I'd likely get the BFG g-Force Rival S tires -- due to size availability, although I've heard those are not the greatest for long track sessions (softer compound used heats up fast and gets a little greasy). So, yeah, on the fence.
With that said, all the tires I've used worked reasonably well. Of the street tires used so far, the Dunlops held up (for me) the best. The Hoosiers (purchased as discounted/discontinued models way back) were amazing, but corded MUCH sooner than the RA1s or the NT01s.