When you're doing something even remotely technically interesting shared hosting isn't an option. However, if you need something for, you know, the restaurant down the street, your nephew's school blog, a small shop that justs wants a Google Map and a contact form i don't think shared hosting is such a bad option.

It's really cheap ($20 for a VPS might be low for you, but it isn't for your nephew), doesn't matter that much when it's down, usually easy to set up, etc.