What is the best way to store a large amount of text in a SQL server table?

Varchar(max) is available only in SQL 2005 or later. This will store up to 2GB and can be treated as a regular varchar. Before SQL 2005, use the "text" type.

In SQL 2005 and higher, VARCHAR(MAX) is indeed the preferred method. The TEXT type is still available, but primarily for backward compatibility with SQL 2000 and lower.

I like using VARCHAR(MAX) (or actually NVARCHAR) because it works like a standard VARCHAR field. Since it's introduction, I use it rather than TEXT fields whenever possible.