Is a parallel circuit better than a series circuit?

It would be a little bit simplistic to say that series or parallel configurations of components are universally better. It depends what you want to do in the context of the circuit.

One advantage of a parallel circuit is that you can disconnect one component in the circuit without disconnecting the rest of the circuit. Series circuits do not share that property.

If houses were wired in series you would have to run everything at the same time, cooker, heater, iron, tv etc but with parallel circuits you can select what to turn off and on using switches.

Another example is that old Christmas tree bulbs were wired in series, and if one went out, the whole string went out. Newer systems use parallel arrangements, and the string will remain lit even if one or several bulbs burn out.

A possible minor advantage of a series circuit is that it takes less wire to connect the same number of components in series than it does to connect them in parallel.

In more complex contexts, components in AC circuits may serve different purposes depending on whether they are in parallel or series with the load part of the circuit. A good example of this is high pass vs. low pass filters. In a high pass filter a capacitor might be placed in series with a load, whereas when serving as a low pass filter the same capacitor might have been placed in parallel with the load.