A blank CD's quality is not always connected to its brand name. Many of the names you would expect to produce the best CDs are made at the same factories. Taiyo Yuden, in combination with Sony and Phillips, helped to pioneer the creation of the first recordable compact disc. Taiyo Yuden's brand of blank CDs is ranked as the best quality blank CD by the best blank CD or DVD media list of 2011. Wired magazine describes the Taiyo Yuden brand as "the granddaddy of them all." Many users on websites such as PC World and Amazon also rank this brand of blank CD's as the best.
One determining factor of a CD's quality is its speed. The speed rating of a compact disc refers to the top speed of its ability to write a disc. CDs with a higher speed are usually considered to be of a better quality, resulting in better sound and better results. CDs with a lower speed often fail to write, resulting in a useless blank CD.
The amount of storage capacity for a blank CD is mostly irrelevant when it comes to quality, but obviously a CD with a greater storage capacity should be used if trying to burn materials that take up a lot of space. However, many older CD players and drives are unable to process anything longer than 80 minutes.
The reflective surface of a blank CD can come in several different colors. There are two layers to this surface. The base layer operates best if it is gold in color, but silver is also considered acceptable. The second layer of a CD is dyed, usually a shade of blue. If the dyed layer interacts with a gold layer, the disc becomes less likely to be corroded, which will improve the overall longevity of the disc. The best blank CDs will have a gold base layer and a darker blue-like dye for the second layer.