This thread is funny. It's like asking what is the best tasting pizza. You're going to have 10 people with 20 different opinions and they're going to argue and attack each other because they can't agree.
Different planes did different things at different times in the war. Personally, I think the B-29 was the most influential aircraft, far and above any fighter, as it single handedly brought an entire country to its knees. No other airplane did that. The most influential weapon of WW2? The nuclear bomb.
But the question is top fighter aircraft.....I don't know. Depends on what theatre, what battle, what country. I really can't pick a single one. But I do have to laugh at someone who says the Corsair had a "tendency to stall." Every f**k airplane on the planet has a tendency to stall if flown incorrectly. In fact, according to this website, the Corsair would out-dogfight the Mustang because of its slow stall speed.
http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/hist-ac/f4u-4.pdfYou also can't forget that when the lead starts flying, it's much better to have an air cooled engine than a liquid cooled one. The Corsair had no worries about a radiator being shot out and losing coolant. But that doesn't mean the 'stang wasn't a bad ass airplane, I am just defending the silly attack on the corsair's stall characteristics.
"Police protection" is an oxymoron. Gun laws are like masturbation, they both feel really good, but after you're done you realize you haven't accomplished anything."