I’ll tell you what was one great jarred tomato sauce: RAO’S PUTTANESCA.
I began buying it about–maybe–six years ago and it became more and more difficult to find until I could get it only on Amazon. Bought a bulk order–maybe 8 jars–and now it’s vanished on local shelves and on Amazon, although, apparently, at Zabar’s has it for about $15. a jar…or so Instacart says…
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I don’t see it on Rao’s site. Bummer.
So - as I noted upthread, the Michael’s of Brooklyn was amazing and I WILL be buying more. Tried the Carbone some time over the summer (amd started a draft of this reply and left it until I tried another brand…see below).-
The Carbone’s was OK. Not as fresh-tomatoey as I had hoped. But it’s good. I’d have to compare taste-to-taste against Rao’s.
Had also purchased Silver Palate Low Sodium, Carmine’s of NY, Alessi, and Mutti (both marinara and passata).
I tried the Carmine’s of NY tonight (10/01/25). Tasted it straight out of the jar and got…nothing. I found it incredibly flat-tasting. Dug a bit deeper in the jar. Nope, same thing. Absolutely nothing to write home about.
I used most of the jar for a meat sauce (ground beef, squozen sweet sausage, onions, mushrooms and red bell pepper, tomato paste, dried oregano, basil, and parsley, a bay leaf, s/p and a Parm-Reg rind. It became serviceable for this purpose.
Will update the thread as I try more. 
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I tried Rao’s after seeing it on America’s Test Kitchen, and I didn’t like it much. To me it was pretty typical jarred red sauce.
I just don’t get the hype. It does nothing for me
I mean, it’s just a tomato sauce. What is your favorite brand?
Michaels of Brooklyn. But lately I’m making and jarring my own
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I’ve yet to try that one. What do you like about it?
I noted above (April 26th) about Michael’s: “Used the Michael’s tonight in a bolognese-type meat sauce. But I tasted it first as-is. WOW. This was excellent! Very fresh tasting, and tomatoey.” So far, it’s the one to beat for me.
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Rao’s was bought out by Campbell’s Soup Company in March 2024, so it’s possible the recipe was changed? It used to be very good, but I also think it’s not as flavorful as it used to be.
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I’ll check it out. I mostly make my own marinara, and even if I use store-bought, 9 out of 10 times I add stuff.
We still have two large Rao’s marinara jars in the basement 
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I think I still have two in my pantry closet as well. But they can stay there until I check out the Mutti, Mezzetta, Silver Palate Low Sodium, and Alessi. I’ll be having tomato-saucy things for awhile! LOL
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True. Alfredo is pretty easy to whip up at home. The shelf-stableness tends to add some adjunct flavors.
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I’ve never bought shelf-stable Alfredo, or any non-tomato pasta sauce for that matter. I make my pasta sauces 99% of the time, but sometimes want a bit of a short cut for marinara.
The idea of shelf-stable cream/butter/cheese sauce squicks me out.
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And Alfredo is so easy to make, too.
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Michael’s is great. I tried it at the Fancy Food show when they introduced it and it was way better than Carbone and others that were sampling there.
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The “homestyle gravy” sounds really good, too:
Main differences seem to be soffrito and bay leaf in this variation.
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It is!
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