When choosing beef such as chuck or brisket, etc., I go with Choice grade. When choosing a steak, I almost always go for Prime. 

Edit: I won't buy anything below choice. If I am taking in that amount of calories, I am going to make it worthwhile. That's why I don't drink cheap booze or eat crappy chocolate.

Here is a chart on percentages, care of The Virginia Polytechnic Institue and State University

fishlessman said:

for me better grades dont always work, i prefer a good choice ribeye over a prime piece, both in texture and taste

Generally, what you like is what you like! Prime is worth more, even though it has more "fat" because it tastes better and the beef has been finished in a more expensive manner. Some just don't like prime and are happy with a select. Do what makes you feel good. 

Skiddymarker said:

show previous quotes

fishlessman said:

for me better grades dont always work, i prefer a good choice ribeye over a prime piece, both in texture and taste

Generally, what you like is what you like! Prime is worth more, even though it has more "fat" because it tastes better and the beef has been finished in a more expensive manner. Some just don't like prime and are happy with a select. Do what makes you feel good. 

PS - @Eggcelsior - great info, I was looking for my chart and you had one already posted....Thanks

mmmmm 45 day dryaged ribeye and 45 day dry aged porterhouse.... both are choice ill take these over prime any day

Eggcelsior said:

I would too. Dry aging adds a whole other element not considered in the marbling equation. Have you dry aged Prime as well to compare the two in equal fashion?

never had prime dryaged, cant see making the jump from 20 bucks a pound for the great piece of choice dry aged. non dry aged i like the choice ribeye over the prime any day of the week, if it were  a strip steak i want the better grade, if it were tenderloin im not impressed with any grade be it select choice or prime (ill marinate it anyways)
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500 said:

I'm having trouble getting Mrs. 500 to choose a well marbled steak over one that isn't.  Her feelings are that the marbling is fat, and fat is fat that she doesn't want to eat, because she is making healthy choices.

Not to suggest something that might lead to an argument, specially on Valentine's, but avoiding all fat is not a healthy choice. There's been pretty good evidence that a lack of Omega-3 fats leads to heart disease. You might offer your wife totally grass fed prime beef (expect wallet shock), which, while fatty, has similar benefits for heart health as eating salmon.

Also, serve the beef w. a big leafy salad and some whole grain bread sticks. Both of those will block the fat from being absorbed. An expensive way to have tender and tasty, but not fat adding.

I just trust my butcher when it comes to picking meat. 

My butcher will often tell me if the choice or prime would be better.  Often he suggest the choice if it looks well marbled.  He says you won't be that big of a difference between good choice and prime so it is not worth the extra cost.

 

In the last year i have come to the conclusion that where i buy my meats makes a MAJOR difference in the finished product.  Agreed, as stated above, the best meats are not even available to the "average" local market.  For many years most of my shopping is at Sam's or Costco, mixed with the other local grocery stores.  Locally raised and butchered meats are so far and above my past suppliers - it is unbelievable!!  Example is the chicken!  At my local Sam's Club i would buy a package of two- whole chickens say for nine bucks.  Right off the bat, i know they have been frozen, because i have bought them at times when they were still frozen.  Next is the amount of waste i cut off these chickens, most of it is pure fat!  Now consider the color?  The Sam's Club chickens are a dark yellow, where my local bought chickens are what i call "bone white"???  Understand i was taken back by this the first few times i bought them!!  The next thing i realized, the local chickens were never frozen, and they were much smaller than the Sam's Club product - no steroids!!  I didn't have those big chunks of fat, hanging inside.  And when i dress the chicken for cooking, the local product was cleaned inside, where the Sam's club product contained parts that should have been removed!  When i started to balance the costs of these two products, the local product cost MORE!!  But how much "MORE"?  The local product was $1.24 a pound, Sam's Club was $.99 a pound.  So on a typical meal for my family i may spend an extra fifty cents per person.  The taste difference is NO comparision ---- WHY? ---- fats - steroids - frozen (and defrosted how many times?) - and sorry to say, my Sam's Club has a track record of selling out of date product!!  Now, i am concerned with what i learnt about "CHICKEN"!  So i start buying the pork butts, they were smaller in the local market - but fresh, local meats.  What a difference!!  When i trip and stumble on anything "good" i MUST prove it wasn't just a "whim" that something tasted better --  i must prove it -------- ASK MY WIFE !!   But the point i am making is i learnt the advantage of buying local meats  --  for us eggers it makes a difference, it did for me.... 

I have a butcher that my family has been using for about 30 years. Most of that time we've been buying organic, free range, grass fed beef. By definition, that beef is MUCH leaner than USDA graded beef. I would never buy prepackaged beef in a grocery these days. Ever been to a feed lot? Just the smell will change the way you look at beef forever! Same too with a swine farm.