Respectfully disagree that basic science is looked upon more favorably - just that statement is too broad in my opinion.
Before I continue, I'm going to make the assumption that with either project you're significantly involved and can explain the rationale, methods, results for the project when asked (aka you're not just getting your name on something).
With that in mind, if you don't really care about research and if you can have one publication and it can be either epi/clinical or basic science when you're applying to Med school or residency or whatever, the basic science will most likely look "better." This is largely because for said type of individual, who isn't necessarily selling themselves as the hardcore researcher but who wants to show they can use the scientific method to arrive at a result, the research is a proxy measure for hard work and ability to follow through on a project, not necessarily research prowess, and basic science work does often take more to see through (at least in time).
However, where that breaks down is when one is trying to carve out a niche in an academic sphere. Then it becomes much more about narrative and showing consistency in the examples used to craft that narrative. If one wants to do clinical or public health research long-term, then obviously publications in that field support the narrative and are respected. If one says they want to run a lab, obviously the bench research is more important. The purpose of research for the person that actually wants to continue conducting research in the long term is not to look just like they work hard and not just to show knowledge of the scientific method (though any research will show this) but to pick up marketable skills and then show they have the ability to apply those skills to generate publications and funding. The methods don't matter at this point because both types of research are equally impactful in different ways, and most in the field of medicine and public health recognize both types of expert researchers are needed to improve the system and would be happy to take either individual.
Obviously this gets a bit more complicated because ultimately different types of research can pull in different amounts of grant funding, which can play a role at some level, but that level is when you're being hired as a researcher, not when applying to Med school or residency.
