I had good experiences with the Wagner ceramic brake pads from Advance Auto Parts. Maybe they don't have the "best" stopping, but they are cheap and have good fit. Also very low brake dust. No noise either!

 

Another Akebono fan here (using OEM rotors).

 

I put all new rotors on my '02 XKR-100 6 weeks ago (I know...wrong forum) and had the same issue with Akebono: rear available...front not available. I ended up with EBC Red Stuff on the front and Akebono on the rear and am pleased with the results. I have put many miles on the car since then and have very little, if any brake dust on the fronts now. I actually drove the car for a weekend with the Akebonos on the rear and the standard semi-metallic on the front. I do brake hard on occasion and as best I can remember, my current set up is as good as the old brake pads with respect to stopping power.

 

I bought my Akebono pads for the front and rear from Rock Auto. They were under $100 per set. Something like $78/85 dollars. They have been great and very little dust.

 

I have used EBC Red Stuff, Akebono and Pagid. Out of these, I like the EBC and Pagid, the Akebono are not high enough performance for me, giving weaker braking than I feel is needed. None of them dust especially. The EBC are probably the best of the lot.