I use Java/JavaScript/TypeScript at work but I do most of my scripting with .NET using LINQPad. Being able to use LINQ makes scripting so much easier.
Python? Huge respect, huge ecosystem, however I don't know if it's just me but I find it mighty hard to read. PHP with the "->" and Python with the space-sensitivity... Not sure why but it's so hard for me to overcome.
PHP syntax does add to the line widths, so breaking long lines in multiple lines by extracting variables can help with readability. Using return, continue and break early reduces indentation so that helps too, as well as creating smaller functions.
I use Ruby for scripting because it has a big standard library (unlike javascript) and an expressive syntax. The syntax is also very readable and short. It's also easy to install gems globally and use them. Things only need to be imported once.
I wouldn't say these things are qualities for big projects though. I like Typescript for big projects.
Python? Huge respect, huge ecosystem, however I don't know if it's just me but I find it mighty hard to read. PHP with the "->" and Python with the space-sensitivity... Not sure why but it's so hard for me to overcome.