Some audio CDs not being read by DVD RW player.

[nuraman00]

Honestly new DVD/CD drives aren't very expensive and take a couple of minutes to replace. If you notice this on more than these two disks and it becomes any kind of a problem it is far less painless to change that out (and the cable while you are at it) than it is to wipe and reimage your OS.

Yeah, I got mine for $20 late in 2011.

I'm a little afraid that if I get a new one, I'll find some other ones that won't work with the new drive.

Are there any brands you recommend as having worked well for all kinds of media?

I guess as you said, if I notice it with more than 2, it's probably time to replace it. I don't think I'm at that point yet where I have to replace it, but your suggestion after discovering a 3rd one seems reasonable.

I wouldn't even have to replace it, as I could just use the 2nd slot in my case.

 

[WizardHawk]

I really don't deal with the same needs as you often. I mostly build/repair/buy for business use and their compatibility with audio media isn't something of importance.

I've used LG, Light-on, and ASUS and all of them have worked as designed. LG is one of the leaders and I mostly stick with them, but I can't say they are better than any other particularly with audio media.