Battery options BESIDES Optima?

I have a old part store battery that came with my Duster back in 05 when I bought it. I swear you can't kill that thing...I've left it on the ground for weeks, sitting in cars for months....Throw it on the charger for a bit and bam! Good as new....Still using it in our portable diesel air compressor trailer...God its ugly with over spray, etc on it....Anyway, figured I would buy another one for use around the shop...Nope...Craptastic...Never would hold up...Tried 3 different batteries from 3 different stores with good dates on them...verified water was ok and charging correctly....Just crap batteries....They may say they didn't change manufacturing...But you can't explain that....I have 2 Redtop Optima's in my Daily Drivers and have never had an issue yet in 5 years... 1 is a 70's Mopar charging system and the other is a 80's Chevy charging system.