I've read quite a few posts on this subreddit and have done extensive research, but haven't been able to find a good combination of price and features for my particular use-case. People typically recommend Shaw, COREtec, Flooret, Cali Bamboo, Armstrong, or one of the HD or Lowe's brands, but rarely specify the exact line, or why they chose what they did.

My specific case: I'm planning on laying down LVP over 5/8" plywood subfloor (no other underlayment) throughout the entire apartment, including kitchen and bath. One thing to note here is that the contractor is re-doing the subfloor, but I'm in a very old building, and I'm skeptical that even a new subfloor would be completely flat.

In terms of priority, waterproofing is critical since the flooring is intended to be continuous. I prefer loose lay, no bevels, and a softer feel to walk on. Cosmetics are also important, but I'd rather get the function right and compromise on the aesthetics a bit. And target price is ~$4-5/sq ft.

Does anyone have experience with a similar set of criteria, and if so, what flooring did you end up using and why?

EDIT: thanks everyone for the responses, definitely some good info. I'll try to write up a TL;DR from all of the various posts and update this again. In the meantime, I realized that one other factor I had overlooked was the edge feature. Most brands are either enhanced- or micro-beveled. Interested to hear people's opinions on these as I've always found both to be pure dirt traps and have preferred the straight-edge (square-edge) finish.