Alan,
Thanks for the comments. Did you scan my list from last year? Pittsburgh Metro Area - #258 by ansayre
If I weren’t so lazy it would interesting to have an “apple genius” where you could put in the rankings of apples you taste and get recommendations. Problem would be that even if you had a rock solid recommendation you would be unlikely to find the cultivar.
I bought a bushel of KdS at the u-pick orchard near Columbus, OH and they still rank at the top. It’s so interesting how good apples change with age. When we u-picked them I wasn’t enjoying them, they were too tart and not complex. At the time the Rubinette’s were better to eat straight off the tree. After two weeks they became great.
I wish there were orchards around me that grew a few of the less commercial varieties on the list. The commercial problem is that a lot of the apples I like (russets-type) don’t have attractive fruit to the average consumer