Amey,
We actually used LLATL Literature Blue for part of phonics and then Alphabet Island with my oldest son for phonics. We then switched to Hooked on Phonics with ETC and finished out his phonics instruction. This was before either Reading Made Easy or The Reading Lesson had come out.
With my second son we used Hooked on Phonics and ETC, because we had spent such a large amount of money on Hooked on Phonics that we were greatly inspired to use it again!

However, we could not recommend Hooked on Phonics to others, due to its high price tag and its need to have a solid pre-reading program before it, in order to use it successfully.
When it came time to recommend phonics programs, we selected two that had been very well reviewed. Since my mother had been a first grade teacher for 20 years, her advice came into play quite heavily. We wanted programs that were accessible to all types of homeschoolers and all types of teachers. We wanted to make sure all moms felt that they could teach phonics using the programs we selected.

However, we also know there are many good phonics programs out there, which is why we leave the phonics choice out of our guides.
My oldest sister has used Reading Made Easy and liked that one quite well. It was also later selected as one of Cathy Duffy's Top 100 Picks. Both Reading Made Easy and The Reading Lesson continue to have good results and be well-reviewed. Both have a good track record with homeschoolers.
Blessings,
Carrie