Grado - SR225x

My Grado SR225's left ear stopped working but gonna try fixing by replacing the jack end of the cable. Thankfully I got some Sennheiser HD25's to keep me going

That’s why you need AT LEAST 10 sets of headphones! The only over/on eras I can wear individually are my 25 year old Grados. The only thing that prevents me from gluing AirPods Pro permanently to my head is battery life.

The nyczaj pads on those grado x drivers make them so good

My Grado SR225X’s are my absolute favourite. They could be more comfortable though

Im an audio guy and after many years of optimizing playback solutions imo there are two very clear answers: Sennheiser 6XX for full size, and Etymotic ER2XR for IEMs.  The sennies can be found new for around 200 and the Etymotics are around 130 new. I found them uncomfortable and the cables are definitely microphonic but you can get aftermarket tips. For pure $/sound i think they are the strongest I've ever personally heard.  Another outside option is Grado SRs, for under 100 I love the sound. Build quality and comfort is meh but they look cool and sound excellent. They aren't a great match for every genre though, read up if interested. 

Almost all of mine are used headphone and usually I buy blind, except those I picked up when I was in e earphone in Tokyo. The choices were usually influenced by reviews, experience shared by redditors, or I just like the look and the price was good. Buying blind like this mean I end up with pairs like the Grado 225 which I do like the sounds but can never wear for more than 30 minutes with my glasses.

For rock music, there is nothing else like grado, try to find a secondhand one to fit your budget better, but you really need to try it on your own at least once before buying anything else. It's open back, which mean it will leak sound everywhere and much more suitable for home usage. It also doesn't sound that good for most other genre, but man they do the meanest guitar shred I've ever heard