Several years ago, I always seemed to have problems with +R discs. Not so much on my end, but clients would have glitchy playback or at best, inconsistent playback experiences. I switched to -R discs, and the problem went away. I'm not sure if there are still issues with +R discs, since those are now more abundant in my area than -R discs.
For brands, I currently use Sony DVDs. They're not perfect, but at $30 per 100 discs, they hit a nice balance between price and reliability. I've tried the really cheap discs and no-name brands before, and have noticed that 5-25% of the discs in any given batch would fail. I tried some of the higher end discs and had more of a 0-5% failure rate, and with the Sony discs I currently use, the failure rate is typically somewhere between 0-8%.
I have also noticed that burning at a lower speed than the disc is rated for drastically cut down on the number of faulty discs and experiences of glitchy playback. So, while my Sony DVD-R discs are rated for 16X, if I burn them at 8X or 12X, I have less faulty discs and no complaints from clients that their discs aren't playing back smoothly. Your mileage may vary, but this is what I learned over the past couple years after offering short run disc duplication services in addition to my video services.