I highly recommend Plextor. I had a ricoh burner originally with no end to problems - 8 out 10 would turn into coasters. Since I got my Plextor 12X burn-proof, 2 years ago, I haven't made one coaster yet. Also, just in case you're wondering, the unit did die (my fault, I upgraded the Firmware with a CD in the unit), but Plextor replaced the burner free of charge even though the warranty for the unit was one year. This also tells you they are a very dependable and reliable company, giving 100% to customer service.
I use Roxio for Audio CD's and Nero for Data.
PhatPhunky