The past decade, especially the latter half, has seen the development and explosion of more web application frameworks, libraries, and modules for CMSes than anyone can possibly keep track of. So many, in fact, that it almost feels like there isn’t a correct choice when starting a new web project. And then, once you’ve started, it’s pretty much impossible to switch halfway through without rewriting a significant amount of code.

And then come the hybrids: what if you like the content management aspect of a CMS like Drupal, but you also like the interaction model of a front-end framework like EmberJS? Is there a silver bullet that lets you build the app you want to build on top of a common framework that doesn’t get in the way, but is also unassuming? What characteristics would such a silver bullet have?