The Top 10 Best Shirts

These are the ten t-shirts our clients chose most for custom printing at Danger Press. The list comes from the 2,363 orders placed with us between October 2025 and October 2026, ranked by how many different clients chose each shirt, so one big order can’t push a style up the list.

Quality is subjective. This list doesn’t address quality per se; rather, it objectively shows what our clients picked. What’s better or best for your project depends on how your art pairs with your choice of garment and print method: screen printing, TruePrint (our DTF printing), or embroidery.

At a Glance

• Most popular shirt: Bella+Canvas 3001 Unisex Jersey Tee, chosen by 74 clients.
• Most shirts printed: AS Colour 5001 Staple Tee, 13% of all the shirts we printed.
• Most popular color: Black, used in 15% of jobs.
• Most ordered size: Large, 29% of adult shirts.

Ordering more than adult tees? See The Top 10 Best Hoodies for 2026, The Top 10 Best Kids’ Shirts for 2026, The Top 10 Best Totes for 2026 and The Top 10 Best Hats for 2026, ranked the same way from our order records.

The Classics Came Back

For the past few years, client preferences moved toward heavier fabrics with a boxier fit, and our last list reflected that. This year, the classics came back. The Bella+Canvas 3001 was chosen by more clients than any other shirt, and the lighter Next Level 3600 grew, while the heaviest option on the last list, the Shaka Wear Max Heavyweight, fell from about 10% of the shirts we printed to under 2%. Heavyweights still have a loyal following (the Comfort Colors 1717 is #2), but the slimmer, softer, retail-fit tee isn’t going anywhere.

Last time, I expected the AS Colour 5051 to take market share from the 3001 and 3600. It didn’t: both of those grew, and the 5051 dropped off the list.

1. Bella+Canvas 3001 Unisex Jersey Tee

Chosen by 74 clients • 12.0% of shirts printed

This is the historic favorite, and this year it was chosen by more of our clients than any other shirt. Made in the mold of the American Apparel 2001 that revolutionized the tee shirt in the early 2000’s, it’s 4.2 oz, 100% Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton, with a retail fit: thinner fabric, slimmer fitting, soft to the touch. My guess is that if you’ve purchased or been gifted a tee shirt in the past 20 years, you probably own one.

2. Comfort Colors 1717
Garment-Dyed Heavyweight Tee

Chosen by 63 clients • 7.9% of shirts printed

Relaxed fit and heavyweight, 6.1 oz ring-spun cotton, and what really differentiates this tee is that it’s garment dyed, which gives it a washed and worn look. Loads of color options and great quality make this a client favorite. It’s held its place for two years running, with more clients choosing it this year than last.

3. AS Colour 5001 Staple Tee

Chosen by 42 clients • 13.1% of shirts printed

Regular fit (not boxy, relaxed or slim) and mid weight at 5.3 oz, this tee bridges the gap between where choices have been for decades and where they’ve been heading. More shirts were printed on the 5001 than on any other style this year. The brand continually refines details and introduces new colors seasonally, and it’s consistently our favorite tee as a shop. When clients put their hands on the shirt, they perceive the quality immediately.

4. Bella+Canvas 3001CVC Unisex Heather Tee

Chosen by 39 clients • 9.3% of shirts printed

The 3001’s blended sibling: the same fit and weight in a 52/48 cotton/poly blend, which gives you the heather colors and an even softer hand. Choose the 3001 when you want 100% cotton and the CVC when you want heathers or a softer feel.

5. Next Level 3600 Cotton Crew

Chosen by 24 clients • 4.6% of shirts printed

This one fits right in the same pocket as the Bella+Canvas 3001 described above. Light weight, 4.3 oz 100% combed ring-spun cotton, slimmer fit, and a competitive price. It grew this year, which says the classic fitted tee isn’t going anywhere.

6. Gildan 2000 Ultra Cotton

Chosen by 23 clients • 1.9% of shirts printed

Regular fit and heavier fabric at 6 oz, and not exactly soft to the touch, but it occupies the “promotional” niche where price is the priority. That’s an important factor in decision making for many clients.

7. M&O Gold Soft Touch 4800

Chosen by 19 clients • 1.3% of shirts printed

It sits in the same promotional niche as the Gildan 2000, where price is the priority, with a softer touch, as the name suggests. Fewer shirts were printed on it this year, but a steady group of clients still chooses it.

8. Next Level 6210 CVC Crew

Chosen by 18 clients • 2.0% of shirts printed

New to the list. Next Level’s 60/40 cotton/poly blend at 4.3 oz: the 3600’s softer, heathered counterpart, the same way the 3001CVC relates to the 3001.

9. Bella+Canvas 3413 Unisex Triblend Tee

Chosen by 16 clients • 3.1% of shirts printed

The 3413 is a tri-blend: 50% polyester, 25% cotton and 25% rayon, which gives the shirt a lighter weight (3.8 oz) and an even softer hand feel. The downside is that the rayon tends to make the fabric pill over the course of several wash cycles.

10. AS Colour 5050 Block Tee

Chosen by 16 clients • 1.3% of shirts printed

New to the list, and the second AS Colour style in the top ten. To me, this tee is best in class: it competes with the Bella+Canvas 3001 and 3001CVC and the Next Level 3600 and 6210, with a better feel and fit. It costs less than those options and is a nicer tee: softer, not as narrow a fit, and it does better in the wash. I love this shirt for this niche.

Softest Tee

I’ve intentionally left “softest tee” options off of this list. All the shirts on the list are soft. I’ve done this because soft to the touch is subjective, and it’s enough of a conversation to be an article by itself. Example: I think the AS Colour 5001 is softer than the Bella+Canvas 3413. My office-mate Jason disagrees. That in mind, you cannot go wrong with any of these if you want a soft tee.

If you’re looking for more in-depth info on shirt fabric types, we discuss the differences between them in detail in Very Very Soft Prints.

What Are the Most Popular Shirt Colors?

Black is by far the most popular color: about 1 in 7 jobs used it, more than twice as many as white. White, natural (unbleached cotton) and navy follow, and everything after that is under 3%.

What Shirt Sizes Should You Order?

Typically, t-shirt buying patterns in the U.S. follow a simple bell curve, slightly skewed toward larger sizes, and this year’s orders confirm it. Large was the most ordered size, and more of our clients’ shirts were XL or bigger than were Small or smaller.

We recommend following that curve for two reasons. First, Americans tend to be a bit larger than the global average. Second, a shirt that’s too small will sit in someone’s closet forever, whereas a shirt that’s a bit too large may still be worn. For the full walkthrough, see How do you choose shirt sizes on your next order?

If you’re ordering 200 shirts or more, I might recommend adding a couple of XSs, if the garment style and color you’ve chosen offer them.

At 1,000 shirts or more, the far ends of the curve are big enough to fill. 3XL and 4XL together made up 3% of the shirts our clients ordered, so on an order this size they’re worth adding, again if the style and color come in those sizes.

How We Counted

Every number on this page comes from our own order records: the 2,363 jobs placed between October 2025 and October 2026. Of those, 2,209 had been invoiced at the time of writing. Shirts are ranked by the number of different clients who ordered them, then by shirts printed. Youth sizes, fleece, accessories and services like printed tags aren’t counted as shirts.

When you’ve chosen the shirt you like, or if you’re still unsure what the best option for your project is, email us at hello@dangerpress.com or request a quote. Danger Press is a screen printing company that’s been operating in Atlanta, Georgia, since 2004.

We keep the same yearly lists for hoodies, kids’ shirts, tote bags and hats.

Editor’s note: this article was originally published in September 2019 and is updated each year from our order records.

Last updated October 13, 2026. Next update: October 2027.