Frank, we live in great times. There is a plethora of high quality pocket cameras available on todays market which fit a variety of shooting styles and needs. They are not all made in the same mold where it then comes down to which one does the best job. Instead they're all trying to find their little niche that appeals to what they hope will be the most photographers.
What this means is you'll need to know and examine your shooting style and needs more carefully than you'll need to study the choice in cameras. This is hard for some people, most seem stuck in the "but I want it all" rut. If you could further detail your needs and style I think we could take a better stab at what would suit you best.
Based on what you've stated so far I can tell you I really like my Fuji x100 with it's APS-C sensor, wonderful raw files, and fast F2 35mm equiv lens. It's not the best camera for everybody, but I find myself taking it and leaving my NEX cameras and others behind. And I really like looking at it and holding it and manipulating it's controls, not a feature you normally look for but the x100 is set way apart from it's competition in this category so it's worth mentioning.
Good luck for what must be the most popular hunt for a camera.