There is a youtube channel called "Project Farm" and the guy there does very analytical comparisons between all types of tools. When he did the chainsaws, it was clear that nothing touched the Stihl. I have been a long time user of Stihls and was looking to change over for two reasons. The first was that every time you open the gas cap, a little fuel spits out. (Note, the forest fire service stopped using them because of this.) Also, the entire handle is the main body of the saw. I have had problems where the handle gets damaged and it is a pain to replace it. After seeing the Project Farm review, and not finding another brand that make the handle separate, I'm sticking with Stihl.
I like Project Farm, but his gas powered chainsaw was NOT a good comparison of gas powered chainsaws. It was a comparison of home owner grade, gas powered chainsaws and the MS250 that he had in the video had more displacement that the Husqvarna. There was no way that Husquvarna was going to keep up despite the fact that the MS250 is a turd of a saw (IMHO).
In my opinion, most of the advice given so far misses the mark because you really aren't asking the right question. I run older Stihl saws (6 of them), but that's mainly so that I can interchange parts if/when needed and minimize the number of different spare components I keep on my shelf. Husquvarna, Dolmar/Makita/Jonsred, and Echo are all good saws. A new or lightly used pro saw from any of these companies is a good option. The OP said they were looking for something faster. Based on that information, I would recommend something noticeably bigger than an MS261 (even though it is a great saw and noticeably better than a 271). I would look at stepping up to something in the 60cc range or even 70cc range. Yes, keeping your chain sharp will make your saw cut faster, but YOUR sharpening skills are what they are, and YOU supply the chain regardless of which brand/model of saw you're running. Going this route normally means that you're going to have to open you're pocketbook and spend some serious money, but bigger equipment just costs more money.
Here's the part where I'm going to get flamed. If you don't want to spend $1K on an MS400, and realistically have a hard time spending even $700 to $800 on another firewood saw, you might want to consider a Farmertec clone. I'm all for buying American, but when all the companies are sourcing the bulk of their parts from China anyway, it becomes less important to me. I ordered a complete G660 power head directly from Farmertech last spring and had it at my door in 2 business days (US Inventory) for less than $325 (Current price appears to be $355). To be fair, I had done my homework on them before hand so I went ahead and spent another $70 on replacement parts/upgrades. Some from Hyway, and some from my local Stihl Dealership. In the end, I still had a 92cc saw with a high output oil pump, a dual port muffler, and none of the EPA emissions crap for under $400. I put 6 to 7 gallons of fuel through it this summer, and it's doing fine. A lot of that was running a 42" bar (3/8 full skip chain) on days that were 95 degrees or warmer so I'm satisfied with my purchase. Just know that IF you order directly from Farmertec, there are a handful of parts that you REALLY need to replace before you even fuel it up. For reference, a G361 (59cc Stihl 361 clone) is currently $260 with free shipping from US stock, and a G466 (76.5cc Stihl MS460 clone) is currently $330 with free shipping.
If you want a bigger saw, but don't want to repair it before you even run it you can buy one of the clones from some place like
Farmertec Holzfforma US fast shipping and pay them to "fix" the saw before they ship it. If I were looking for another saw, this is probably the route I would go.
