Very interesting...
When I had gotten my very first CD-R drive (Compro/Panasonic 7502 4x burn) back in 1997, all I did was buy TDK media. At that time, the media wasn't perfect, neither was the drive nor the burning software. (It was _early_ in the CD-R days...)
Over time, everything had gotten better and I continued to use TDK media, until I ran into a really bad batch of CD's. I found a tool that could read the ATIP code (manufacturing code) on the CD-R, and found that the batch that I had was made by (BLAH) Ritek.
I contacted a friend that works at TDK's US HQ (About 5 miles from me) and she said that some of their CD-R manufacturing has been outsourced and that my milage may vary. She told me that I could purchase genuine TDK media from her, if I wanted to.
From that day on, I have only used Verbatim disks and they are perfect!!!
(Even so on DVD+/-R discs!) If you haven't tried them, buy a small spindle! You won't be sorry...