What's the best way to cook fresh asparagus?

roast, toss with brown butter and soy sauce

Very fresh and/or very thin stalks -- I'm with Bevi. Butter-steamed with salt/pepper and a bit of lemon is lovely.

I love to roast, but if I am in a huge hurry and the asparagus is extremely tender, succulent, and delicious, I will put the aspies in a saute pan with just a touch of water, cover, and stop cooking when the spears are barely tender to a piercing with a knife. Then I'll dab on a nut of butter, and some salt and pepper.

It's great roasted or grilled, but my favorite use for asparagus is this soup:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fresh-asparagus-soup/detail.aspx

I agree with roasting. I like tossing it with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and rosemary and cook at 450 until nice and crispy. Watch it and don't let it burn!

I agree with "green stuff" buy in season from local sources and... I actually prefer it raw. Right out of the ground is best IMO, I'll never forget the first time I tried it this way! And I was hooked!
Otherwise, a cream soup.

I love to blanch them quickly, then toss them around in a hot pan or grill for a second for a little char, then add a touch of olive oil and salt, and top with either ribbons of parm or a squeeze of meyer lemon juice.

A soft boiled or poaches egg along side is fabulous, too.

I agree about roasting it but I also like to peel the stem end steam it lightly then chill. Arrange on a bed of greens put some minced hard boiled eggs then a light lemon vinegarette. It makes a nice salad.

I like to toss them with olive oil, sea salt, black pepper and lemon juice, and then roast them.

Asparagus is great in all those ways and more. But the most important thing is, if at all possible, eat it only in season from local sources. When asparagus is in season here, I sometimes have it twice a day. And then I avoid it the rest of the year.

trim off the tough ends where they naturally break when bent, then drizzle with olive oil, s + p and GRILL. grilling brings out the very best caramelized flavor...depending how fat they are it can literally take just a few minutes. a cast iron grill pan indoors works really well. then, finish with a few shavings of fresh parm as soon as you take them off the heat.

I'm a fan of roasting it: http://www.food52.com/recipes/11652_oven_roasted_asparagus_with_mascarpone_hollandaise
It's also good used raw: http://www.food52.com/recipes/10461_creamy_raw_asparagus_pesto
KayKay's recipe for Absurdly Addictive Asparagus is also delicious: http://www.food52.com/recipes/4023_absurdly_addictive_asparagus

Roast it in a hot oven with a bit of olive oil, pepper, and a generous amount of salt. Yum!