Teflon Tape or Plumbers Putty?

For the past several years, I've been using teflon tape on the threads of the anode in my Suburban water heater to keep water from leaking out of the tank. This year, I bought a plumbers putty stick and coated the threads prior to installing my anode. I noticed it sealed much better than the teflon tape and didn't require so much torque to seal. Last year I had an issue with the tape. I had to tighten the anode tighter than I liked in order to create a seal. Many of the "How To" videos on YouTube tend to use the teflon tape. What's the recommended one to use? Thanks in advance!