I got these from a Middle Eastern grocery store in Philly. Ramadan was just over (last Sat), and Ramadan is usually the month of the year when you can find the greatest variety of dates in Middle Eastern stores.
The key feature of this top quality Deglet Nour is the appearance you see in my photo: translucent, yellowish brown, soft flesh often times with honey/caramel oozed out 
. Also, they are usually kept in the fridge/freezer, becuase of their very high sugar content with some moisture makes them prone to bacterial growth and souring. The best quality ones are usually imported from Algeria and perhaps Tunisia. You will find a lot of dates labelled Deglet Nour, that look drier and don’t fit my description above, they are ok, but not special. Those inferior ones don’t need refrigeration.
Barhi dates are originally from Iraq, but its palms have been imported to USA I believe in the fifties or sixties and are commercially grown in Coachella valley in California. This is another top quality date that you have got to try. You may find it in farmers markets around CA.
My third favorite variety is Sukari dates, which are imported from Saudi Arabia.
Dates have four main stages of ripeness that can be eaten in: The first is called Khalal, and it’s dates are crunchy, kind of like an apple (more crunchy) and are sweet to very sweet. The second is Rutab, and the dates will be creamy soft, translucent, very high in sugar (probably ~50% or higher) and prone to spoiling if stored at room temperature. The third is Tamr, which is more dry than rutab, but still retain the high sugar content (can be stored at RT due to the low moisture content) and moderately soft and chewy. The fourth state where the Tamr becomes very dry and hard, some times brittle, this fourth stage is best eaten with milk, like cereal (after putting in milk overnight to soften and release its sugar into the milk). My favorite stage is the Rutab. See some Barhi photos below.
