When I started to work as a software developer we used to use AccessDB and SQL server for desktop applications (This was 14 years ago).

In the last year, I have been using cloud providers and remote databases with SQL server but also with other engine like postgreSQL and mariaDB.

postgreSQL is a great database because it is full free, opensource and supported by all the cloud providers.

If you have to start a new project right now with .NET and ASP.NET, which database you prefer?