Ray prefers gmail over all of the free ones out there. He has been trying to talk me into getting one for a few years now.
Since you won't be using hotmail anymore, this won't help you but it may help someone else. If you are getting an alert
several times a week that there was suspicious activity on your account, you should immediately go in and reset
EVERYTHING related to the account. You should
change your password to a strong one, change all of your secret questions, AND set up as many back up options as possible for that provider. (some will allow you to use an alternate email AND a cell phone number to reset your password if you get locked out or hacked) Since there were alerts that there was suspicous activity on your account, that is a definite red flag that someone was using your account for spam or something else sinister.
Good luck with your new email!