I have a few pieces of ancient calphalon anodized aluminum. This is back when it just said "The Commercial Anodized Aluminum Cookware Co" and had the NSF logo, and was about twice as heavy as the modern incarnations. The anodized surface is not my favorite (I prefer stainless for most things) but these pans work great for almost everything and have taken a beating since the early '90s.
The only ones I've stopped using are the fry pan (9 or 10" omelette pan / poele) because it got ridiculously warped. It's still around as a spare, but it wobbles and spins and every now and then needs to be bashed back into shape (sort of) with a hammer. One drawback to very thick aluminum is warping when you use on high heat ... presumably because of the high expansion coeficient of the material allowing it expand / contract on the inside more than the outside during fast temperature changes. Probably when deglazing, etc..
For bare aluminum I'm pretty happy with my 20qt stockpot. I chose this material here because it was the cheapest. I think a stainless one with a disk bottom has a bit more utility—easier to clean, and no issue with acidic ingredients leaching metal into the stock. But the aluminum is a workhorse and these drawbacks have been more hypothetical than anything else.
