What's the best way to cook dried beans?

I'm not trying to turn this into a debate about whether they're better than canned.<br><br>Rather, I'm just trying to figure out a simple way to cook dried beans, and it's really hard to find a consensus.<br><br>I've done some reading and it seems like there are like a million different ways to do it, and that some types of beans require different methods.<br><br>I've had success with the "autoclave" method, where you soak them in water, leave them in a sealed container, and heat it up for a while.<br><br>But I'm looking for something simpler, and it's really hard to find a consensus.<br><br>I've had a lot of problems with just throwing them in boiling water--sometimes they turn out fine, but sometimes they end up still hard after several hours.<br><br>And then there's the question of whether you should soak them. I've seen some recipes that say you don't need to soak most kinds of beans, but you will need to soak chickpeas, for example.<br><br>I'm really looking for a basic rule of thumb, like "for most kinds of beans, you should _______. This method will usually work, but if it doesn't, then _______".