I thought I posted something earlier, but for SATA SSDs I'm rather partial to the virtually identical SanDisk Ultra 3D and Western Digital Blue 3D, where I have both in different applications. They've been flawless for me. The WD may only be sold as "WD Blue SATA SSD" now, but it still uses 3D NAND flash.
If Best Buy is convenient for you, they have the 1TB WD Blue now for $84.99. There should be no reason why it wouldn't work well, and had zero problem setting it up, although I'm not sure if the version I bought in 2019 may be different somehow.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-blue-1tb-sata-2-5-internal-solid-state-drive/6025900.p?skuId=6025900
The other thing is that the SATA ribbon connector in some Unibody MacBook Pros can have issues because they're really thin and snake around corners. This seems to especially cause issues with SSDs when the insulator layer might be damaged. Some recommend replacing them. This was especially bad with the mid-2012 13" model, but supposedly this can cause problems with all models. I heard as a matter of course, Apple used to replace these (with an upgraded version of the ribbon connector) when a Unibody MBP was in for any service. Some have done their own hacks using electrical tape to prevent any exposed metal from contacting the case.
Diagnosing MacBook Pro Hard Drive Cable F… - Apple Community
Someone mentioned Samsungs. I've heard that sometimes they have issues with their firmware, which needs to be updated to work in Macs. Not sure if they have Mac software to do that though.
