I tried 10 ranch dressings from the grocery store. The best one was tucked away in the refrigerated section.

Marie's creamy ranch dressing came in a squat bottle.

The ranch dressing from Marie's was one of only two I tested from the refrigerated section. Many of the refrigerated ranches had other flavors added (like chipotle or avocado) or were marketed more as yogurt-based dips.

It came in a unique, short plastic bottle. I paid $5.49 for 12 ounces, which worked out to $0.46 per ounce.

This had a nice balance of flavors, though I wished the herbs were more prominent.

This ranch had a thick texture and a strong, classic ranch smell straight out of the bottle.

I thought it had a really good balance of tangy buttermilk, salt, and herbs (like dill), though the garlicky flavor was stronger than the herbal one.

Cindy's Kitchen is a new-to-me brand.

This dressing was the only other one besides Marie's that I tested from the refrigerated section.

It came in a glass, rectangular bottle. I paid $6.99 for 11 ounces, or $0.64 per ounce.

Although tasty, this didn't quite have the classic ranch dressing flavor I was looking for.

I was excited to try this dressing because it had unique ingredients, like bell peppers, jalapeños, and carrots. The flavor was strongly garlicky and salty with a strong umami flavor.

It's a good flavor for a veggie dip, but this wasn't quite the nostalgic, classic ranch-dressing taste I was looking for.

Brianna's makes great vinaigrettes, so I was hopeful about the ranch.

I'm already familiar with the Brianna's dressing brand, as I like using a lot of its vinaigrettes for salads. So, I was excited to try its classic buttermilk ranch.

It came in a 12-ounce glass bottle for $3.99 ($0.33 per ounce), but it was on sale for $1.99 ($0.17 per ounce).

This dressing had a sharp, tangy flavor.

The texture wasn't overly thick nor too thin, which I appreciated. The flavor was super tangy and salty, with a nice amount of herby flavor.

Buttermilk seemed to be a pretty prominent flavor here, and the tanginess from it left a sharpness at the back of my throat.

Marzetti offered multiple ranch dressing options.

It was hard to choose a Marzetti ranch dressing because there were several options, both refrigerated and shelf-stable, from the brand at my grocery store.

I went with a classic, standard shelf-stable option that came in a plastic 16-ounce bottle for $4.29, or $0.27 per ounce.

I wished this had a stronger flavor.

This ranch had very sparingly visible herb flecks, which seemed to allude to its very subtle, delicate flavor.

I didn't really taste buttermilk, garlic, herbs, or salt, but I didn't mind the consistency, which wasn't too thin nor too thick.

It was a bit bland to me, but I could see this appealing to a picky eater or someone looking for a very mild dressing.

This Chosen Foods ranch is made with avocado oil.

This dressing caught my eye because the bottle prominently displayed that it was "made with 100% pure avocado oil".

A lot of the shelf-stable dressings I tested were made with soybean oil, which is typically a cheaper ingredient, so this was an interesting alternative that sounded pretty premium.

Avocado oil is also widely considered to be a healthy fat, so the inclusion of this ingredient might appeal to more health-conscious shoppers.

This 8-ounce glass bottle cost me $6.49, or $0.81 per ounce.

I instantly wanted to pair this with fried pickles.

I noticed this dressing had significant oil separation, but it's nothing a good shake — rather, several good shakes — couldn't fix.

It took me a few tries to pour out a well-combined portion of ranch. The dressing had a very thin consistency with lots of herbs and a strong dill smell. It tasted like a slightly spicy dill pickle, which I liked.

Because of the consistency, I probably wouldn't put this ranch on a salad or reach for it very often. However, I think it'd be amazing as a dip for fried pickles or other crispy appetizers.

I ate a lot of Wish-Bone's ranch as a kid.

I remember eating Wish-Bone brand dressings when I was younger, so I expected these to have a nostalgic ranch flavor.

This version came in a 15-ounce plastic bottle with an easy, squeeze-top opening and cost me $3.49, or $0.23 per ounce.

It didn't quite hit the nostalgic spot for me.

This dressing had very few visible bits of herbs and smelled like Parmesan cheese to me.

Rather than having the classic ranch flavor I remembered, it mostly tasted slightly tangy and salty, leaving a somewhat oily feeling in my mouth afterward.

Ken's Steak House was another nostalgic brand to me.

I also remembered eating Ken's Steak House dressings, including the ranch, as a kid.

This dressing came in a 16-ounce plastic bottle with a squeeze-top spout. It cost me $3.99, or $0.25 per ounce.

This option offers a strong buttermilk flavor.

The Ken's Steak House ranch had a thick consistency with a moderate amount of visible herbs. There wasn't much of a scent to it, which left me surprised by how tangy it was.

There were strong hits of garlic and onion, although the herbs fell into the background. This was another dressing so tangy with that signature buttermilk flavor that it left a strong, sharp feeling in the back of my throat.

Primal Kitchen also offered a ranch made from avocado oil.

The Primal Kitchen ranch dressing, like Chosen Foods' ranch, is made with avocado oil instead of the more common soybean, vegetable, or canola oil.

This dressing is also marketed as a marinade, which I thought could be interesting for using on chicken.

It came in an 8-ounce glass bottle for $8.59 ($1.07 per ounce), although I scored it on sale for $5.15 ($0.64 per ounce).

This had a very zesty flavor, which I think would work well with fried foods.

This dressing had a thinner, easy-to-pour texture and looked like it was loaded with herbs.

The herb flavor was prominent, with a strong dill flavor that I liked, along with forward notes of garlic and onion. The flavor was zesty, and I think this is another dressing that would pair well with pickles and other fried foods.

It didn't have a very classic ranch flavor to me, though.

Olive Garden puts its own Parmesan twist on ranch dressing.

I was immediately intrigued by Olive Garden's shelf-stable Parmesan ranch dressing.

It came in a plastic, 16-ounce bottle for $4.79 ($0.30 per ounce).

The flavor was nice with the added Parmesan, but the cheese created a texture I didn't love.

The Parmesan added a nice cheesy flavor to the herbs and buttermilk common in ranch dressing.

I enjoyed the taste of this one. However, the Parmesan seemed to leave small clumps throughout the dressing, which I didn't enjoy texture-wise.

Some may not mind those cheesy bits, or even notice them, especially if this ranch was mixed into a loaded salad with a variety of textures.

Hidden Valley Ranch is basically the "It" girl for ranch dressings

Hidden Valley is famous worldwide for its ranch dressing and recently gained more attention when brand representatives handed out ranch seasoning mixes for World Cup visitors to take home as souvenirs.

I remember eating a lot of it growing up, too. This brand also stood out in the dressing aisle because it came in multiple sizes.

I grabbed a smaller, 8-ounce bottle for $2.99 ($0.37 per ounce), but the more standard size seemed to be 16 ounces for $5.09 ($0.32 per ounce).

I usually use the seasoning packets, so I found the buttermilk in the classic dressing more overpowering than I remembered.

Since I reached adulthood and started cooking for myself, I tend to make homemade dressings, often with healthier ingredients.

When ranch cravings hit, I usually use the Hidden Valley seasoning mixes to make a Greek-yogurt-based dressing that's heavy on the seasoning and lighter on the yogurt and buttermilk.

Given that's what I'm used to, this dressing felt overwhelmingly tangy to me. I wished I could taste more of the herbs than the buttermilk.

Marie's was my top pick, and there are other ranch dressings I'd buy again, too.

Although I'll still stick mostly with homemade dressings or locally made options, I really enjoyed the fresh, balanced flavor of the Marie's ranch dressing — even if it wasn't the cheapest.

For shelf-stable dressings, I really liked Olive Garden's take on a ranch with Parmesan as well as the classic flavors from Hidden Valley and Ken's Steak House.

Overall, I wanted a lot more herby, dill flavors from many of the dressings. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to just stir some extra dill into any ranch dressing on this list to suit my own preferences.