to spend more or not to spend more? brakes

I bought ceramic pads from Autozone for ~$60 for one of my Mopar minivans, mainly because they are supposed to stop the ugly cow poop stuff that discolors the wheels when using organic pads. I since read that "ceramic" has no agreed definition and is more of a marketing term. At least they have a lifetime warranty (used once already), and I haven't noticed any more brown coating.