Peter Genovese | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

By Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Americans sure are salty. We scarf down snacks like there's no tomorrow. Nearly 15 percent of us consumed some form of snack 5+ times a day in 2017. Salty snack sales will total about $25 billion this year. Potato chips continue to be the biggest seller in the category, with about $8 billion in annual sales.

It's time for another of our epic supermarket showdowns. We've ranked frozen pizza and breakfast cereal from worst to best, and now it's time for snacks. Warning: Viewing these photos and reading the text may raise your blood pressure.

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The ground rules

I sampled 150 snacks in all. Candy and nuts were not included. We also limited the number of variations on a single brand. (To wit: there are 33 kinds of Kettle Brand chips alone). For supermarkets with their own brands (Whole Foods, Wegman's, Walmart, Trader Joe's), I limited the house brand entries to six per supermarket.

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142. Tropical Fields Broccoli Chips. Gosh, these were awful, like they were freeze-dried during the Ice Age. And I love broccoli.

141. Simple 7 Kale Chips. Kale in chips is a sure sign of the snacks apocalypse.

140. Wegman's Organic White Cheddar Popcorn. A strange laboratory cheddar flavor.

139. 365 Everyday Value Black Pepper & Sea Salt Chips. A Whole Foods brand.

138. Quinn Super Kale Popcorn. There's that dreaded "K" word again.

137. Figgy Pops Organic Baked Energy Balls. I am not making any of that up.

136. Buddha Bowl Himalayan Gold Butter Flavored Coconut Oil Popcorn. On this mission, I quickly discovered that coconut oil has no place in popcorn.

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135. Skinny Pop White Cheddar Flavor Popcorn. I don't want the word "skinny'' anywhere near my popcorn. Practically tasteless.

134. Good Health Half Naked Popcorn Hint of Olive Oil. And I don't want my popcorn half naked, either.

133. Half Pops Butter & Pure Ocean Sea Salt. I'm hoping the Unpure Ocean Sea Salt version tastes better.

132. One Potato Two Potato Kettle Chips Mexicali Salsa. Good luck finding any hint of "Mexicali salsa.''

131. PopChips Galaxy Puffs Aged White Cheddar. Tastes like they've been floating around in the galaxy too long.

130. Clancy's Hot & Spicy Pork Rinds. Clancy's is an Aldi brand. They did better with other snacks.

129. Hi I'm Skinny Superfood Sticks Sweet Potato. I'd rather be fat, if it meant better sweet potato chips.

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128. Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Flavor Popcorn. Stop with the cute eco-friendly names, and just give me good damn popcorn.

127. Good Health Sea Salt Veggie Straws. Just sounds wrong, and it was.

126. Sun Chips Harvest Cheddar. Fake-tasting cheese, although you can probably say that for the majority of cheesy snacks here.

125. Trader Joe's Movie Theater Popcorn. Movie theater popcorn is not something you should aspire to.

124. The Daily Crave Breaking News Veggie Chips. How they registered-marked "Breaking News,'' I have no idea.

123. Good Health Mickey Shaped Veggie Chips. Mickey minus his torso, which is apparently not suitable for chips.

122. Wegman's Organic Popcorn Butter Flavor Coconut Oil & Himalayan Salt. Coconut oil should never be in popcorn. But I repeat myself.

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121. The Little Colonel Mini-Popcorn Pink Himalayan Salt. Someone raved about these on Twitter. I am no longer taking food suggestions from that person.

120. Tiger Nuts Paleo Vegan Prebiotic Fiber Superfood. Didn't think all those words could possibly go together. And they're not nuts, but vegetables.

119. Artisan Tropic Plaintain Strips with Cayenne Pepper. Cayenne? Where?

118. Wegman's Memphis Barbecue Potato Chips. Memphis should initiate legal action.

117. Primitive Thick Cut Italian Herb Crispbreads. Made with "seven unique herbs.'' Apparently, not unique enough.

116. Rold Gold Pretzel Sticks. The least tasty of all the major pretzel brands, IMHO.

115. Mac's Chicharrones Original. Mac should try another line of work.

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114. ChexMix Bold Party Blend. ChexMix is wildly popular; I just don't get it.

113. ShopRite Amish Pretzel Sticks. Barely any flavor. .

112. The Better Chip Beet Whole Grain Chips. I'll take beet over kale chips any day.

111. Oolala Potato Chips Black Truffle & Olive Oil. Great brand name can't save this one.

110. Way Better Sweet Chili Corn Tortilla Chips. If they were way better, they wouldn't be this low on the list.

109. Wise BBQ Flavored Potato Chips. "Tangy'' spices? Not in the bag I bought.

108. Snyder's of Hanover Olde Tyme Pretzels. "America's Pretzel Bakery since 1909'' needs to step up its game.

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107. PopChips Ridges Tangy Barbecue. BBQ flavor, but little else.

106. Popcorn Indiana Aged White Cheddar Popcorn. Highly touted, but I found it bland and not very cheddar-y.

105. ChexMix Traditional. Sorry, not a fan. I'm waiting for the hate mail.

104. Great Value Rippled Organic Potato Chips. Great Value is a Walmart brand.

103. Utz Kettle Classic Original Chips. Another brand of Utz chip would finish high on my list.

102. Herr's Barbecue Chips. Another so-so barbecue chip. My BBQ chip tip: Buy plain chips and dump BBQ sauce on them.

101. Great Value Jalapeno Cheese Puffs. Spend an extra buck and get real cheese puffs.

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100. Beanitos White Bean Mac N' Cheese Crunch. Navy-bean flavored crunchy cheese puffs? Why not?

99. Kettle Brand Jalapeno Chips. Not Kettle Brand's finest effort.

98. Jica Chips Chili Lime. Strangely shaped; they looked like pale white butterflies. The lime flavor barely noticeable.

97. Veronica's Health Crunch. Call it not-horrible honey-coated trail mix.

96. ShopRite Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips. Middle-of-the-snack-road.

95. Bugles Original Flavor. ''America's #1 Finger Hat.'' If that's what you're hanging your hat on, you're in trouble.

94. Kettle Brand Hot Sriracha Chips. Pretty much all the spicy chips weren't spicy at all.

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93. The Snack Artist Cheddar Sour Cream Chips. Wish there was more crunch/flavor.

92. Late July Snacks Jalapeno Lime Tortilla Chips. Maybe they should pick a different month?

91. Trader Joe's Ghost Pepper Chips. These were about as hot as lukewarm milk.

90. Snyder's of Hanover Honey Mustard & Onion Pretzel Pieces. Enormously popular pretzel, but you've gotta love honey mustard.

89. Wegman's Get Wild Crunchy Rice Chips Chipotle Lime. The flavors are there, but salty to the max.

88. Gluck Veggie Chips. Gluck? Yuck.

87. Gardetto's Original Recipe Snack Mix. Better than ChexMix.

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86. Lay's Classic Potato Chips. Lay's chips didn't do as well here as other brands.

85. Snyder's of Hanover Old Fashioned Pretzel Rods. When it comes to pretzels, Bachman's is better.

84. American Farmer White House Cheddar Popped Corn. White House popcorn - who knew? Not very cheddar-y, though.

83. Cheez-It Original. Introduced in 1921 by Green & Green; there are about 400 crackers in a one-pound box.

82. Bearitos Cheddar Puffs. Funky ampersand shape, but bordering on bland.

81. Clancy's Kettle Chips Original. Another Aldi band. Cheap, anyway.

80. Epic Artisanal Pork Cracklings. Made by an Austin, Tex. company. They smell rank - don't stick your nose in the bag - but they're tasty.

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79. Wegman's Get Dippin' Blue Corn Tortilla Chips. Wegman's didn't do well in these rankings, but these purplish/gray chips are more flavorful than most tortilla chips.

78. Utz Sourdough Specials. Better than Snyder's, anyway.

77. Pringles Original. Gotta love the tennis ball can, but otherwise not distinctive.

76. Vitarroz Plaintain Chips Lemon Salt. The lemon was lacking.

75. Lay's Dill Pickle Flavored Chips. I wanted to like these, but the dill flavor was too muted.

74. Fritos Scoops! Familiar Fritos taste, with funky little boat-shaped chips for easy dipping.

73. Say Yes to No! Gouda Cheese Chips. Thanks, but I'd rather say no.

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72. Clancy's Kettle Chips Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper. I didn't see much salt or cracked pepper.

71. Kettle Brand Chili Lime Chips. Another chip that would benefit from more "oomph.''

70. Pringles Loud Spicy Queso. Better than Original Pringles.

69. Munchies Cheese Fix Flavored Snack Mix. A Doritos/Cheetos/SunChips mix weakened by those Rold Gold pretzels.

68. Jackson's Honest Sea Salt Chips. Coconut oil works better on chips than popcorn.

67. Cheez-It Grooves White Cheddar. I like these more than the original.

66. Neal Brothers Montreal Steak Spice Kettle Chips. Not sure what's "steak'' or "spice'' about it. Different, anyway.

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65. Smartfood Spicy Jalapeno Ranch Flavored Popcorn. Stick to the white cheddar.

64. Herr's Kettle Cooked Classic Lattice Sea Salt Chips. For lovers of lattice chips. I know you're out there.

63. Clancy's Cheese Curls. Another Aldi snack. Cheetos by another name, and nowhere as good.

62. Tostitos Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips. Better than expected. Pair with a Corona, you're all set.

61. Route 11 MamaZuma's Revenge Habanero Potato Chips. Great packaging, wish they were spicier.

60. Popcorners Original White Cheddar Corn Chips. Chip texture, popcorn flavor. Different, but not a difference-maker.

59. Garden of Eatin' Chili & Lime Corn Tortilla Chips. Heavy on the self-promotion - "mouthwatering,'' "unforgettable'' - light on the flavor.

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58. Ruffles Original. Ruffles have ridges! An American chip classic, but the texture is way better than the taste.

57. Buck Wild Korean BBQ Tortilla Chips. There's nothing remotely Korean-BBQ-like in these, but they ain't bad.

56. Cape Cod Kettle Cooked Potato Chips Sweet Mesquite Barbecue. One of the better BBQ chips.

55. Goldfish Flavor Blasted Xtra Cheddar. How can you not like Goldfish? Saltier than Regular Cheddar.

54. Funyuns Onion Flavor Rings. Didn't expect to like these, but I did.

53. Paqui Haunted Ghost Pepper Chips. Definitely the hottest of all the snacks sampled. Have a bottle of water or milk nearby.

52. Cape Cod Russet Chips. Russet chips always good in my book.

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51. Dang Sticky Rice Chips. Dang is the owner's mother. As opposed to "Dang, these chips are good.'' Which they are.

50. Trader Joe's Churro Bites. Covered - make that blasted - with brown sugar and cinnamon.

49. Buck Wild Cheddar Chipotle Tortilla Chips. Better than Doritos!

48. Deep River Mesquite BBQ Chips. My favorite of the BBQ chips.

47. StoneHedge Caramel Popcorn. Yes, StoneHedge, not Stonehenge. You can never go wrong with caramel popcorn.

46. Trader Joe's White Cheddar Popcorn. Surprisingly tasty.

45. Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips. You had me at "sweet potato.''

44. Wholesome Pantry Organic Popcorn Crushed Pepper & Truffle Oil. The pepper has an upper hand on the truffle oil, to good effect.

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43. Doritos Sweet Chili Chips. Doritos did well in the rankings; another flavor finished in the top 20.

42. Boulder Canyon Avocado Oil Canyon Cut Malt Vinegar & Sea Salt Kettle Cooked Potato Chips. Undoubtedly the longest snack name ever.

41. Smart Puffs Baked Cheese Puffs. Love my puffs, although Pirate's Booty is better.

40. Taquitos Chile & Lime. Another Aldi brand, Nice and spicy, but too salty.

39. Herr's Baked Cheese Curls. I love my cheese curls and puffs. Most of them, anyway.

38. Southern Recipe Red Pepper Dipper Cracklins. Of all the cracklins and chicharrones sampled, these were the best.

37. Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn. America's favorite popcorn brand, but another brand would finish #1 in my overall snack rankings.

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36. Herr's Kettle Cooked Dark Chips Russet Potatoes. Mmmm, more russet chips.

35. Snikiddy Organic Mac n Cheese Baked Puffs. With a bit more mac n cheese flavor, these would be top-10 material.

34. Simply Nature Sweet Potato Chips. An Aldi brand. Just enough sweet potato flavor, not overwhelmed by salt.

33. Lay's Kettle Cooked Olive Oil & Herbs Flavored Chips. Rosemary and thyme atop a chip? Yes, please.

32. Epic Artisanal Pork Rinds. Salty + peppery = snack happiness.

31. Cape Cod Original Kettle Cooked Chips. Thicker, crunchier than most.

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30. Herr's Sourdough Pretzels Bite Size. There was a time time in my life when I was addicted to these.

29. Uncle Jerry's Pennsylvania Dutch Pretzels. Oat/sourdough flavor adds up to a winner. They're rock hard; make sure your teeth are in place.

28. Tropical Fields Crispy Mango Chips. How can a company that makes the world's worst snack (those broccoli chips) make something this good?

27. Brami Chili Lime Lupini Snack. Chewy, vinegary, weird, wet and close to wonderful.

26. Herr's Kettle Cooked Original Chips. The best of the basic kettle cooked chips.

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25. Simply Nature Vegetable Chips Exotic Blend

"Exotic blend'' of anything vegetable would ordinarily scare me off, but this snack, an Aldi brand, is quite good. Super-crunchy and light on the salt.

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24. Dipsy Doodles

Wise introduced Dipsy Doodles in 1975, and the wavy corn chips are as popular as ever. Distinctive corn chip taste.

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23. Angie's Boom Chicka Pop

Gluten-free Angie's Boom Chicka Pop is the top-rated kettle corn here, with a nice balance of sweet and salt.

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22. Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips

I never expected to go cuckoo over coconut chips, but Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips are irresistible. More like coconut shavings than chips, and nicely sweet/salty. I don't know the difference between "young'' coconut milk and "old'' coconut milk, and I don't care.

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21. Unique Original Splits

Brown, bold, biscuity, brawny - Unique Original Splits, where have you been all my life? Only one pretzel ranked higher on this list. Unique is a sixth-generation company based in Reading, Pa.

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20. Kettle Brand Sea Salt & Vinegar Chips

Kettle Brand, founded in 1982, uses potatoes from family farms in Oregon, Washington, Arkansas and elsewhere. They make 33 kinds of chips; I could eat a couple bags of the Sea Salt & Vinegar Chips without feeling the least bit guilty.

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19. Doritos Blaze

Doritos Blaze over any other Doritos any time. The spice smell smacks you as soon as you open the bag. I don't know about the advertised "cataclysmic crunch,'' but there's a pleasant little heat from the jalapeno pepper powder.

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18. Cheetos Puffs

Decisions, decisions - Cheetos Puffs or Cheetos Crunch? Both ended up in my top 20. It takes 5,000 cows to make a year's worth of Cheetos, and they're made in 22 countries, with 50 flavors overall, including fizzy Pepsi (Japan) and ketchup (Poland). Just give me a bag of plain old Puffs and I'll be happy.

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17. Wise White Cheddar Flavored Popcorn

Wise White Cheddar Popcorn gets the nod over Smartfood or any other cheddar popcorn; it just tastes fresher, cheesier. This is close to popcorn perfection.

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16. Route 11 Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips

Salt & vinegar chips are everywhere, but almost no one tops Route 11, based in Jackson, Va. I have no clue what the advertised "unhurried potatoes'' are, but the sharp, vinegary taste of these chips makes them leader of the pack.

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15. Utz Country Store Stix

Every major pretzel makes a Stix - or Sticks - pretzel. Utz Country Store Stix are crispier, saltier and just plain tastier than Snyder's of Hanover or other sticks.

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14. Cheez Doodles

This snack food legend was a complete accident; Morrie Yohai and Old London Foods discovered that when corn meal was processed under high pressure, it resulted in a tubular shape. Cheez Doodles landed on the market in the 50s. Today the Pennsylvania factory makes seven billion Cheez Doodles a year.

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13. Herr's Kettle Cooked Boardwalk Salt & Vinegar Flavored Chips

I give Herr's Boardwalk Salt & Vinegar Flavored Chips a slight edge over Route 11's version. Herr's chips are good and vinegary, and just salty enough.

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12. Goldfish Cheddar Crackers

Maybe it's the cute little bag. Or the perfect handy shape. Or the weird glee in eating something labeled "goldfish.'' Whatever the reason, Goldfish - Pepperidge Farm founder Margaret Rudkin discovered the snack cracker on a trip to Switzerland in the early 60s and returned home with the recipe - is an American snack classic.

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11. Trader Joe's Giant Peruvian Inca Corn

Giant Peruvian what? Inca Corn, that's what. Trader Joe's Giant Peruvian Inca Corn are really from Peru, and instantly addictive. I couldn't find anything quite like them in the seven supermarkets I visited. Giant? They're five times bigger than the average North American kernel.

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10. Terra Mediterranean Vegetable Chips

I do eat my vegetables, but was a stranger to vegetable chips until this mission. Terra Mediterranean Vegetable Chips pack a sweet herbal/lime wallop. The company was founded 20 years ago by two New York city chefs.

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9. Charles Chips

The appearance of the Charles Chips truck was one of the highlights of my childhood. In 1942, Effie Musser started making chips at home, then brought them over to the Central Market in Lancaster, Pa. A distributor would later pick them up and re-name them Charles Chips, after Charles Street in Baltimore. They're not cheap - the 16-ounce bag cost $12.99 at Wegman's - but they're sooo good.

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8. Chester's Puffcorn

Chester's Puffcorn, from Frito-Lay, falls somewhere in that sweet spot between popcorn and Cheetos. Light-tasting, although maybe not less filling. And at two bucks a bag, a bargain.

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7. Bachman Jax Curls

Bachman, now owned by Utz, is the only snack company with two snacks in my top 10. Jax Cheddar Cheese Puffed Curls are cheesier than Cheez Doodles, and twice as addictive.

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6. Wild Kratts Organic Scuba Snacks

I somehow missed the Wild Kratts American/Canadian animated series created by Chris and Martin Kratt, but I didn't miss their Organic Scuba Snacks, distributed by Whole Foods. They're a puffed snack similar to Pirate's Booty, and it was tough picking between the two.

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5. Grandma Utz's Handcooked Potato Chips

This might be out of left field for top chip. but I loved the buttery, garlicy taste of Grandma Utz's Handcooked Potato Chips. The chips are slightly thicker than most, with a fresh, feisty flavor.

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4. Pirate's Booty Aged White Cheddar Rice & Corn Puffs

Pirate's Booty has been flying largely under the snack food radar since 1987. The Aged White Cheddar Rice and Corn Puffs are light, airy and sinfully snacky. I've gone through bags of these without blinking.

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3. Cheetos Crunchy

The story of Flamin' Hot Cheetos, the brainchild of a Frito-Lay janitor, is about to become a Hollywood movie. Regular Cheetos is one of those snacks that cannot possibly be bettered or duplicated. Trying to avoid the dollar bags in the company cafeteria vending machine requires a superhuman amount of willpower.

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2. Bachman's Original Twist Pretzels

Bachman makes the best pretzels. That is all.

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1. Wise Butter Flavored Popcorn

My top five is a mix of chips, pretzels, puffed rice/corn, cheese snacks, and, in the top spot, popcorn. There are better-known brands out there, but Wise Butter Popcorn stands atop the popcorn mountain with its rich buttery flavor. If only everything "artificially flavored'' tasted this good.

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By the numbers

Number of snacks sampled: 150

Number of supermarkets visited: 7

Beverages consumed during sampling: 9 bottles of water, three cans of Pepsi, one glass of guava juice (don't ask).

Blood pressure: Remarkably steady

What are you going to do with all the leftover snacks? Take them to the office and watch a free-for-all ensue.

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What's your favorite snack?

What's your favorite snack? Who did we leave out? There are thousands of snacks out there, and we couldn't possibly taste them all. Let us know your favorite, or anyone we left out, in the comments section.

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