How does one choose a powder
Just curious as to how one chooses the best powder from the list of powders that are listed in a reloading manual to start off with in reloading for a particular cartridge. In the past when powders were cheaper, I use to read articles and posts to see what everybody used for a particular cartridge. But with the prices of powder and bullets today, how can a novice choose a powder from reading a reloaders manual. Do they select as what gives you the fastest velocity with the least amount of powder or what?