The only difference between side address and front address is which side of the mic you are pointing at the overheads-and usually front address are small diaphragm microphones.

The most important thing is to know and understand your gear. Learn your mic's pattern and what point(s) on the mic is the loci of the pattern. Position accordingly.

As to what is the best pattern, better folks than I will chime in. In the end, what counts is the quality of sound you can get on your tracks.

I like the recorderman technique (although lately i've been using dual mono, since you don't really need stereo overheads with lo-fi indie rock)

I think this has been posted around 1000 times here on RO, but here you go:

In an XY pattern think of how you're positioning the capsules themselves, not the bodies of the mic. Instead of reading though, go set them up and experiment a little bit.

As far as being the "best," there really is no best besides what will suit the song the best. If you're looking for great mono compatability, the recorderman technique or XY or M/S will all work great. If you're looking for a nice wide stereo image then look into the spaced pair technique.

Thanks guys, that helped!