The ETA for the Pioneers to be back in stock at NewEgg has come and gone and still they are out of stock.
Perusing NewEgg for other options has me looking at this Asus drive.
The reviews seem good, but I have nothing else to go on. I'd prefer to steer clear of LG and Lite-On. I'd get a Pioneer (even without lightscribe) based on the comments of members here, but I really don't want to go over $50 and availability otherwise isn't happening.
In brief- anyone have any *bad* experiences with Asus?
Also, I don't *need* lightscribe or the 'retail' package, but the difference in price is small and I'm not sure what options I'd have for LS software otherwise. Ideas?

edit: LightScribe.com has some freeware for labelling, so an OEM drive is an option. The Nero that comes with the above retail drive doesn't thrill me anyway.
edit2: I've just ordered this Samsung. Hope it works better than the Lite-On. Thanks again to Mark for the recommendation of the Pioneer. I'm anxious to get back on track with the *real* project at hand!