For the MEAN stack, if you are comfortable with javascript I use this repo for prototyping:
github.com/cleechtech/mean-starter
I will clone that and that gives me a server and an angular frontend that is all connected to mongodb with the ability to configure dev environments. It is not even that much started code either.
For authentication with JWT and MEAN I use: github.com/cleechtech/node-jwt-intro
Also most recently I have been using laravel 5 to build web apps quickly. There is a learning curve but in the long run will definitely pay off. If you need help getting started with the framework I wrote an installation guide on medium: medium.com/@connorleech/get-started-with-laravel-…