well, I will speak up as a fan of Lasting Love (which was sold as Commandant Cousteau until about 2009), but with the caveat that I'm in zone 10, so cold zoners should take that with a big grain of salt. It's my go-to recommendation for the folk who always ask me for a "fragrant, classically formed, did I say fragrant?, red hybrid tea" and, unlike Velvet Fragrance, it is usually available (even now) in well-stocked nurseries. And yes, it is very fragrant, and I use it to win fragrance classes in shows quite often. I love the foliage, which seems to be disease free here in mildew heaven, and you can easily see why -- the leaves are very shiny and thick. I have grown Velvet Fragrance, but only as an own root plant, and it committed suicide in that configuration before it really got established. If I saw Velvet Fragrance somewhere as a grafted plant, I would try it again, but not own root. As for the OP's original question about whether these newer red hybrid teas are really better than Mirandy, Papa Meilland, etc., I would say yes, even though I still grow most of these older ones. On the older plant varieties, the bloom and especially its fragrance, is often superior, but all of them seem to grow poorly, and lankily for me. But I keep them around because I like the blooms when they deign to produce one or two. Papa Meilland is an especially poor grower, with an especially fantastic one or two occasional blooms. Sitting here sniffing a Papa M. right now. Here, have a whiff:

My Rudbeckias and Echinaceas produced bountiful see their first season with me (this past spring) and their tags said "Perennial", so we shall see if t hey return. But, being like a hoarder of other "things", I have collected many, many seed pods and have lots of bottles and bags, Rudbeckia and Echinacea included. Both are incredibly spiky, so I use a pliers in the right hand and a sturdy glove to hold the spiky pod in the other. I can also now (sometimes) differentiate amongst R, E and Meixican Sunflower seeds. The Mexican sunflowers are SPECTACULAR; I highly recommend them and then collecting their pods. (Let all seed pods dry for about a month before dissecting.) And Marigolds? I have, I kid you not, at least 25,000 seeds in bags and bottles. (Christmas presents from us poor church/synagogue mice.)

Goldenrod does NOT cause hay fever. This myth is completely illogical - Solidago species have showy flowers with heavy sticky pollen that are designed to attract and be pollinated by insects, not the wind. If you watch Goldenrod plants that are in bloom, they will be alive with insects. Ambrosia species (ragweed) have inconspicuous flowers that do not need to attract insects, because their abundant pollen is released to the wind. And that pollen is what causes hay fever. 'Fireworks' is a cultivar of Solidago rugosa - an attractive but highly variable species of goldenrod. Since Solidago is self-incompatible - meaning the Fireworks plant must cross-pollinate with another individual plant of a different genotype to produce seed - I would guess that as your WS'n plants grow, they will exhibit some of the variable characteristics of the species. I would love to see pics too though! I love goldenrod.

Interesting info and questions raised; includes you can't always trust labelling. 'Goldsturm' is definitely a selection of R. fulgida var. sullivantii. Although all Rudbeckia species are native to North American, 'Goldsturm' was selected from the sullivantii variety in Germany over 60 years ago; hence full name: Rudbeckia fulgida var. sulivantii 'Goldsturm'. Subsequently this cultivar has been used to select for other cultivars. Rudbeckia fulgida var. fulgida is another native variety of the R. fulgida species. The core range of variety fulgida is Ga, La, SC. NC, Va and WVa. The core range of R. fulgida var. sullivantii is Mo, Ill, Ind, Mich and Ohio. Cultivars like 'Goldsturm' were selected for (= selectively bred for) certain traits; also the descendants of 'Goldsturm' (in the latter case includes resistance to drought and to leaf-spotting). I'm under the impression that the world "selection", as applied to R. fulgida var. fulgida, just means it was collected from the wild (= is a wild type). If so, that could imply it has lots of variability in the garden.