Baste or Brine? What's your preference?

I was a big basting fan for years, I would baste like every 20 minutes to half hour and thought I was doing great.

About 10 years ago, I tried brining. No basting at all. I feel like I never ate a proper turkey until that first brined one.

For me, there is simply no comparison. I will never baste again.

I watched Alton Brown's Thanksgiving episode of Good Eats a few years ago, and he explains that brining makes the bird juicy through osmosis, literally filling the cells with moisture and flavor.

He also argues that basting is useless because what you brush on the bird doesn't get in through the skin, and because you open the oven door so much, letting out the heat, you slow down the cooking time thereby making the bird even more dry.

But I just got into a friendly argument with a friend over brine or baste, and she swears by basting-- claims she wouldn't even bother to try a brine because her method of overnight cooking on low and basting frequently is the only way she'll ever cook her 30 pound birdzillas.

I admit, I can't find any scientific support for basting, just anticdotal, and some people swear by it.

What's your take turkey lovers?