Just personal opinion, but I would not install carpet in a basement if you also have a water heater and/or sump pump. Area rugs can be removed and cleaned if ever necessary whereas your wall-to-wall will be ruined.

If carpet is going directly on the concrete, it's best without any padding but with a jute or artificial backing that will not be affected by moisture.

High-end builders near me cover the basement in heavily padded plush carpet. By the time the inevitable mould and mildew begin to bother the homeowner, the warranty is long over. One of the same builders now puts laminate directly on the basement concrete on $2 million homes. Looks great--for awhile.

No wall-to-wall carpet in the basement, as it difficult and impractical to keep mold/mildew out of it as indicated by worthy.

Painted concrete, tile and/or area better choices. If I had to decide between wall-to-wall carpet and nothing, I would go with nothing.

We have wall to wall berber with a thick pad over all the living areas in out 4,000 sq ft look-out (English) basement. In the storage and the mechanical areas they are concrete (concrete under the stairs in that closet, too). I've been in many other similarly sized basements in my neighborhood and all have wall to wall carpet. These are 10 year old homes in the midwest. These are very dry basements.

Same here. Berber carpeted look-out basement in the midwest. No mold, mildew or odors. Run a dehumidifier summer months.

My biggest issue with Berber carpets is seam placement.

It's certainly possible to get good seams between two "rows", but not all Berber's are made the same, with some berber's requiring a "serpentine" cut seam. The seams across the grain can also be quite noticeable and a prime area of concern for one of the rows pulling out.

Plush carpets are easier to seam. (Especially the frieze's.)

Your basement layout may not require much seaming, though, making it less of a concern.

For my basement, the seam issues have presented a snag in our plans for a Berber. (pun intended)

We're now considering tiles or plush.

I've got great berber seams. I've seen bad seams even in plush. so much is a factor of who installs it. Choose a reputable installer.

I would suggest if you do decide to go berber, get a nylon one, not oelfin or polypolene, which are scratchier and less traffic resistant (tears up your socks, too).

I have also been in homes with hardwood floors in the basement. It was lovely to say the least. It was a walkout basement. The entire home had hardwood on all floors. My husband's first thought was if we bought that house we'd get a special rider on the basement floor (which maxes out at $10K anyway).

We have carpet tiles from Home Depot. We really like them. We were especially glad we had them when we had to have our lateral sewer line replaced which meant digging up a 20' x 5' hole in our basement floor. It was very easy to take up the tiles in the affected area and then put them back when the job was done.

"I do not have much moisture in the basement."

How much moisture? I wouldn't do carpet in any basement that isn't bone dry with NO history of water issues and controlled humidification. Even then, I would be wary.