I would like all of your advice on food

I work in a local pet supplies store and I have been hearing some really bad things about Blue Buffalo (the food I've chosen to have my cats on). I've heard that people are buying it and finding those pantry moths/webs in their dog food (which is very typical of corn based foods), another person found mold in their dogs Salmon flavored treats, etc... Granted there hasn't been anything said about the cat food, but if it's the same company making dog food as cat food, and the dog food has been contaminated in some way, it will only take a matter of time for us to start hearing of similar things in cat food. 

I find it so much harder to make a decision when my fur babies are involved. I have no problem recommending others what food to feed, but when it comes down to mine, I get very nervous. 

So, I was just wondering what you all think of these five foods I was thinking about possibly switching my cats to:

Nutro (or MAX CAT)

Halo (though they will not admit who they co-pack with) 

Merrick (though I may not trust this now being that it was bought by Purina)

Wellness (though I've heard that sometimes cats and dogs will spontaneously stop eating the food)

Canidae

I'm strictly asking for your opinions on the dry food. I feed a diet of wet and dry food, though at the moment I cannot afford to do a wet only diet, so please so not suggest this. 

Foods I have tried:

Natural Balance (I will never us this food again on my 14 year old. I made her very lethargic and she started losing fur and my 9 month old had tummy issues on this)

Solid Gold (my 14 year old threw up the same day that I mixed it with her Blue Buffalo. I picked out all of the SG food and when she would eat the "contaminated" BB food, she would throw up right away, get real hot and have diarrhea)

Friskies and Meow Mix (my cats were on this YEARS and YEARS ago. They will never be on this food, Iams, or other Purina dry brands again as long as I can afford healthier food)

Foods my work location does not sell:

Wervua

I and Love and You

Earthborn

Taste of the Wild 

Orijen

Evo

AvoDerm

Acana

Fromm

I'm sure there are others that I cannot think of right now... 

So, any advice would be helpful. Thank you in advance! 

Out of the options you listed, I'd have to go with Merrick. I've recently tried the Limited Ingredient Turkey formula with some of our rescues and they seem to like it and are doing well on it.

I tried Wellness CORE before, but no one liked it and also had a friend that kept getting moldy food.

Haven't tried Halo.

As far as another suggestion... I really like Nature's Variety Instinct. If protein allergies are not a issue for your cat(s), the Raw Boost Chicken formula is a hit with those of mine that can have it.

Also, it may be worth checking out Chewy.com or other online pet food sites to see if you can get food cheaper than what your discount at your store offers.

Moldy food definitely deters me form choosing Wellness, though they do have a few other lines out now... Air Dried (highly expensive but has more moisture than their leading kibble food and closest to raw as you can get) and TruFood (raw inspired and baked at a less high of a temperature so it has more nutrients, etc... in it). 

I'll have to do some more research on the Merrick though. I'm kind of iffy about it since Purina bought it. Even thought it's claimed the ingredients won't change, how do we actually KNOW they won't change. Also, how the food is processed/made/etc... my change as well. I've gotten away from using Purina (even though both of my cats like Fancy Feast) as often as I was using it two years ago and I kind of don't want to go back to supporting them. But what is best for my fur babies outweighs my reservations I have against a food company. 

Tygra get's Halo Grain Free Chicken mixed with her Blue Buffalo. She is on Sensitive stomach formula right now and I feel if I switch to Halo Sensitive stomach, I'll be switching soon after that, since their Sensitive stomach line was recalled a few months back. She actually prefers the Halo to the Blue Buffalo, which surprised me.

Link get the Nature's Variety (he's has Ultimate Protein but is now on Raw Boost) mixed with his kitten Blue Buffalo. Last time I tired Link on Halo, it gave him pretty bad gas, but this was when he was still really young (about 3 to 4 months) so I could try the Halo with him again and see if that works this time as he is a bit older. 

The only downfall to Nature's Variety is that it's a bit more expensive for less weight. At least the last time I checked at my store it is (though probably no where near as expensive as Wellness). Though I would have to so some shopping to find out and compare the prices.

And I will look into Chewy and see what I could get and see if it will be cheaper. I'll even try Dr Fosters and Smith. My only concern is the return policy each website may have regarding whether or not your animal likes said food or if the food agrees with your animal, though this is another thing I would have to check out.

Thank you for your advice @CatPack  !  

I've been using Chewy for several years now. Never had an issue with getting a full refund if my cats didn't like a good or if I had an issue with the food. They have never asked for food to be shipped back, but rather have told me to donate if possible.

My cats really enjoy the Merrick LID, specifically the chicken and the turkey. Even though they were bought out at this point there haven't been any changes (at least that's what they're claiming). Merrick is very transparent with their LID foods and very responsive. I contacted them about the 5oz cans being less than 5oz and they sent me coupons. I've heard some people getting entire new cases when they contact them about an issue. I've bought cases both from Chewy and Amazon without issue.