Systems, methods, and computer readable medium for optimizing storage allocations based on system resources are disclosed. According to one aspect, the subject matter described herein includes a method for dynamic, policy-based allocation of system resources. The method includes specifying a plurality of system resource collections for representing sets of like system resources and their dependencies. An order in which the collections are to be evaluated during selection of a resource is also specified. A policy for determining the best resource within each collection is also specified. Statistics about the system resources in the collections are maintained. A request for a resource is received. In response to receiving the request, the collections are evaluated in the specified order. The best resource is selected from each collection based on the dependencies, prior selections, and statistics to implement the policy.