I think I hit every yard in Bergen and Passaic counties...multiple times. Some places were great with the names, others wouldn't give them out. Arena in Carlstadt and Daltile in Lyndhurst were the most helpful.

I went to Bridgewater Marble & Granite - not a great selection, but everything had a name. I am going with All Marble & Granite (marble.com on the web) - they had a better selection, also just numbers on the samples/slabs in the yard, but I just went in and asked the guy and he looked them all up and gave me the name. Of course, now I lost the name of the one we picked so I have to call again!! They are coming out this Friday to template. Bridgewater took much longer.
Good Luck!

Last week we went to Stone Surfaces in Rutherford; our salesperson was Annie. We didn't look at any slabs, but she had showed me some on a prior visit and used their names instead of numbers. This time she also gave me samples of everything we are considering, including a nice big chunk of Calacatta Gold that she had the guys hone for me. Then she sealed and enhanced it so that I could test it for staining at home. My GC recommended them, and while we haven't had them template or install anything, so far it's a been a pleasant experience. If you are looking for something they don't have (like Danby Imperial) they will send you to Dente in Cedar Grove. Haven't been there yet.

WOW - thank you fellow Jerseyites!!!! All Marble and Granite came very highly recommended to my husband. We went there yesterday and because it was the day before Easter and they were closing early, we sort of got the "bum's rush." They were very agreeable to giving us a bunch of samples however. Problem is, the samples have only numbers, and I'm pretty sure a couple of the ones they gave me were not what I asked for. We're definitely going to go back to look again - at a time where we can actually go into the yard and look at slabs. I feel like out of the samples I took home, none of them are exactly "perfect" - but I also know I can't really go by a sample alone. I need to see slabs. Still just trying to get the best idea of what's out there. I truly appreciate the suggestions of other places around me to check. Everyplace mentioned in the posts above is doable from where we are. Thanks!! SQ

Try to find a distributor of MSI granite. Their headquarters are in Edison NJ and they have an absolute gigantic warehouse of slabs. Anything you could every want. You need a dealers name to get you in but it is worth it. Everything in one place.

IGM in North Bergen, OHM in Cranbury (a hike, but big yard).

There is a new Karl's Appliance on Rte. 17 in Paramus, their showroom has lots of Granite samples all from BCG Marble and Granite in Hackensack...just to add my two cents (Although we're going with Cambria Quartz)...GOOD LUCK!

We went to All Granite in South Plainfield. They had the biggest selection of all the places we went but we ended up at Aplha Stone in PA because they were the only place that had the color were were looking for. (We are in South Jersey) I don't see any big deal about names vs numbers. You are going to want to see it anyway so just say, "Show me your greens". Samples can be of some help when checking colors against cabinets or tile but whole slabs are what you want to see. The names aren't set in stone (pun intended), anyway. Forrest Green in one place might be Moss Green at the next.

avcs- That is where I am going to pick my slabs this week! HD uses them in mercer county NJ so they must be associated with other HDs in NJ?? I know they have many choices and I can even pick a different stone than what I decided in the store.

Thanks to everyone for posting suggestions. Really do appreciate it!

mikefl - you are right about having to "see it" to really make the choice. I think it's just part of my imagination/visual impairment that I want to "see" pictures of the granite in an actual kitchen setting and that's harder for me to do without names.

Again - thank you for your help. SQ

Dente in Cedar Grove has some gorgeous marble, their granite selection was OK. I was a little put off by them, found their customer service / helpfulness to be lacking.