I've got 6 CD / DVD burners at the moment, in 3 systems - 1 Pioneer, 2 Sony and 3 LG. Subjectively, the best performers are the LGs (as in the one's that I seem to end up using for most tasks), and they are also the cheapest.
I always stick two DVD drives, of different brands, in a tower case. Various reasons, but I can almost always achieve the desired result.
SD