Yes, that seems to be the generally accepted rule. The bigger the better, especially if you have a smaller tank like a 10 or 20 gallon.
The brands I've seen people mention are Fluval(Hagen), AquaClear and Eheim. There are also external and submersible variants. I personally have a Fluval external filter and it works fine. There have been some complaints that it is hard to prime (get going). That is true although with some practice, I've found it to be reasonable. I haven't used other brands so I can't compare them to the other brands. What size tank do you have?