We've had bad luck with Memorex - were using them originally to do Charley's CDs (which cram a lot of material onto the CD), and 1 in 7 or 8 had static in the last track or two. We switched to Maxell, and haven't had a bad CD in the hundreds we've burned since then. I also use TDK for non-music stuff (when they're cheaper than Maxell at the local store) and have had good luck with them, though haven't gone through the quantity that we have of the Maxells.

I haven't tried cheap and/or generic CDs - we buy the printable Maxells online, and I consider the extra cost well worth the time and sanity saved - they're only 37 cents each for a hundred-pack, and these are the ones we can run through our printer - the basic non-printable ones are less.

With the Memorex, I had to listen to the last song on every CD I burned to make sure it didn't have static, and I'd feel compelled to do the same with any other brand that hadn't proved itself on my computer the way the Maxells have.

Of course, your CD burner may prefer a different brand - I'd make a point of listening to the first and last tracks on everything you burn, until you're comfortable that there won't be any surprises.

Good luck - and enjoy!
JudyB