Greetings,

 Well i tend to go for LG burners myself, they have never failed me so far... and to the software i use K3B (Linux) or Nero (if i ever have to use windows - but that doesn't happen to often ). Now the media i use... hmm.. mainly 'silver circle' or 'silver blue' for cds .. and for dvds... well, i only use rewriteable dvds so that may not be what you are looking for since they cost more than 'normal' dvds.

 I hope that helps you a bit,

Take care and have fun