I just recently cleaned my chain thoroughly because I was trying a new lube. I used a chain cleaner (Park) with Zep citrus degreaser. I followed that up with soap and water, then plain water in the chain cleaner. Finally I sprayed the chain and cogs with WD-40 and wiped everything down and let dry before applying the new lube (Pedro's Road Rage). Probably way overkill but I think any degreaser is fine as long as you don't soak the chain in it too long (except for the ones known to be safe for this), don't get too much on you, and remove the residue afterwards. I don't think I've ever gotten a chain so clean that it didn't make a gritty sound when flexing the links, though. That grit is really hard to remove.

The biggest problem I have with any degreaser is how to responsibly dispose of it afterwards. Supposedly you can recycle mineral spirits/kerosene by putting it in a bottle and letting the gunk settle out, but whenever I try this the stuff just remains a thick black mess indefinitely (maybe that's normal, I don't know).