No real alternative currently, as I see it. The main ones track the hell out of you, dark pattern galore, Pine and the other Linux phones are simply not 1.0 yet, and I count AOSP derivatives as aftermarket solutions, because they don't have the engineering power to continue developing the fork, either the AOSP or the hardware, should it come to that. There isn't really a best choice.

I personally opted for an older Samsung flagship, LineageOS without G services, and my own cloud at home. And I'm not counting on this being sustainable to be honest. I might go more Stallman later, buy dumber devices with lots of tradeoffs or just give in to the zeitgeist, and buy the shiniest tracking chip.

Edit: Kudos for getting the Pine - putting the money where the mouth is something that has at least the potential to change.