Adopting kittens - how to transition food - food suggestions

I am adopting two Maine Coon kittens very soon - yay!.   They are 12 weeks old.  They are currently on Purina Kitten Chow and Friskies Shreds and so I have some ready for them since that is what they are used to.  Doing the research, it seems that these are not the healthiest foods, so I'd like to transition them over to something better.  Does anyone have recommendations of:

1) What kitten foods are good and nutritious?  I have seen that Fancy Feast is okay for wet food, and Royal Canin/Nutro is good for dry food but I am willing to take any other advice.  I have access to lots of local pet stores and have a decent budget, but I don't want to be a sucker and pay too much for something that really isn't any better.  

2) How to transition them to new foods with less stress.

Thanks!

​I feed Premium Edge dry food for kittens it's good food  and later they will go on adult food  , I also feed Tiki wet food and some Fancy Feist wet food , they get the wet food usually at night when I get home from work  and dry the rest of the time    chewy has it , that usually where I order from

https://www.chewy.com/s?query=premium+edge&nav-submit-button=  also some pet stores carry Premium Edge

As to transitioning, have 3 cats and we keep their food in two containers. A large one that can hold the full 12-15 pound bag is in the garage and a smaller container in the house to feed out of (it would probably hold a 5 pound bag). What we have done when we switch is:

* Put the last of the old food in the smaller container.

* Add new food to the smaller container whenever there is 2-3 inches of space at the top, mix well.

* Continue adding new food as space is available, mixing well, until we don't see any sign of the old food anymore.

* On just the new food.

Typically takes me a month to full transition the foods this way (usually a 13 pounds bag lasts us 1 month). You could do this on a smaller scale by putting the old food in a gallon bag. As space allows, add a cup of the new food in and mix together. Keep doing it until the new food is the only food in the bag. I have never had a problem with them rejecting the new food or getting sick with this method and it is a lot less complicated than measuring to make sure you have exactly 1/4 this and 3/4 that. 

What food.... well that is more of a personal choice. Lots of opinions out there. Personally, my guys love and have done well on Natures Variety Instinct (I did use Blue Buffalo Kitten when younger with my girl, mostly because she was tiny and I wanted a higher fat content but their adult has too much fat for my comfort). But I am open to a different binder so I check out labels and haven't found something else I like better. And there are a lot of people on here who will bring up raw; I personally don't have time, money or the desire to make sure I am doing raw right so I stick with kibble and canned wet. 

The necessity of  kibble is it needs a binder to keep it together when they dry the meat plus some vitamins to compensate for what is missing. The common binder until recently was a grain (wheat, corn, etc) which can cause cats to retain fat around their middles because their bodies don't process it the same it builds more fat than in humans. They are also obligated carnivores which means they naturally eat almost exclusively meat and don't need plants in their diet. There is a lot more that goes into it but basically I look for meat in the first 5 ingredients and no corn or grain. I also dislike potatoes as a grain alternative, but it is commonly seen as that, because from my own research it isn't much better.  

Don't forget the importance of water when feeding dry. I am a huge advocate for cat fountains to give them flowing water. In my experience they drink more and don't have kidney problems that can happen if they don't drink enough. The ideal fountain has a flow and still-ish area so your cat has choices. Personally, I would say for an indoor only cat a designated cat fountain, a decorative fountain elsewhere in the house, and keep small bathroom paper cups near sinks so you can offer water to the cats if they are watching you wash dishes, brush your teeth etc. Mine are indoor/outdoor and we have outside fountains that we purposefully use no chemicals in so they can drink from them plus we do keep little cups which they routinely join us for tooth-brushing and drink the entire cup during. 

Thanks for the advice!  I will head to Petco or Unleashed and look for a good kitten food with a lot of protein in the mix.  The fountain is a good idea too.  We used to have one years ago for my old cat who died last year.  She loved to drink from the faucet later in life, and would actually drink drops from a straw that my husband would feed her.  

We are bringing the first kitten home tonight!  I can't wait!