Laravel is bar none the best way to build modern web apps. If you come from a background other than PHP, you might be skeptical. Take an objective look and see all the conveniences it has to offer. I think you'll be surprised. For the rest of us that use Laravel daily, we couldn't be happier with the productivity and value it allows us to ship.
Nothing comes close to the simplicity and synergy of Laravel. It's not just a framework, it's the best web dev ecosystem on the planet by far. No contest.