I’d get the largest sink that will fit in the cabinet. The cabinet company should have the specs on that.

I've got 32 inch sink and it is a great size. Really would not need it any bigger.

I was wondering if a 30 or even a 28 was sufficient. Can't say I wash that many things that need a lot of space. (I have lived with a double bowl my entire life!)

Thought maybe the extra counter after a certain sink width might be just as useful.

My criteria is I want to be able to soak my largest sheet pans, roasting pans, stock pots fully submerged and flat, with enough extra room in the sink to be able to get those things in and out without Tetris games. Maybe bathe a puppy too.

Ideally I'd use the biggest sink I could fit. I ended up with a 27" farmhouse sink in a 30" cabinet and it's been fine. My cutting boards and cookie sheets and roasting pan all fit laid flat. I wouldn't have minded going bigger, but it hasn't been a problem at all.

A 24" sink with interior dimensions of 21" x 18" is larger than either bowl in a double bowl sink. It's large enough to wash anything you use in a kitchen. Especially when most things are rinsed and then your dishwasher does a better job of washing. So, what's the benefit? In your case the sink can be spaced to one side of your 36" cabinet and storage or trash redepticles can go on the other side. You also get a foot more usable counter space for an adjacent work zone. That's worth more in many kitchens. If you choose a 24" sinkbase and strap mount your sink, you'd also have 12 more inches to use for wider drawer base cabinets on that run. There's no way you come out ahead using valuable space for an oversize sink, ime.

Unless you're living on St Mark's where the sink is also the bath for your apartment.

Measure your turkey roasting pan and add a few inches.

If you've got a 36" cabinet, you can undermount a 36" sink. No one has ever complained about a too-large sink.

Are you replacing cabinets too? If so, I would use a smaller sink base, and add those precious inches to an adjacent cabinet. But that all depends on your cabinet configuration - maybe you have so very much storage space that you can handle a 36" sink base.

I complain all the time about poor design wasting valuable counter space for an unnecessarily oversize sink. An extra 15 inches of counter to prep at can be super important especially if more than one is working in your kitchen.

I have a double-bowl sink in a 36"W sink base that has a 21.5"W basin and a 10.5" basin. The 21.5" is bigger than you think. It fits everything except the full-width glass shelf from the refrigerator. All my cookie sheets, roasting pans, casserole dishes, refrigerator shelves & bins (except the full-width), etc., fit in the large bowl. Even the squirrel cage from my Vent-A-Hood range fits in the large bowl.

Is counterspace in short supply in your Kitchen? If so and it's possible, then I would reduce the size of the sink base to 30" and put in a 27" to 30" wide sink. If you're not re-doing your cabinets then that obviously is not an option. If you need the counterspace and cannot change the sink base size, then Dan's idea about mounting a smaller sink may be the way to go. Align the sink with the DW side so you have more space in your Prep Zone (the non-DW side of the sink).

I would never get a double sink ever again. I had one once and hated it.

And of course the size depends on the size of your kitchen. If you're short on counter space, then reducing the size of the sink makes sense. But if you have a large kitchen with lots of counter space then a large sink would be a good choice.

24 inch sink certainly wouldn’t work for me. We do not put most of our cookware in the dishwasher. One of our frequently used pans is 22.5 inches with the handle. That would not be fun to try to clean it with so little space.

OP maybe it would help if you went through your pots and pans and how you use them and make a box using painters tape to get a feel for how big of a sink you need. Also how much counter space you would need. I’ve got a large kitchen with a lot of counter space so that does not factor in to sink size for me but it might for you.

A bigger sink or even a 45" workstation sink has a place in a large kitchen which already has 42-48" work zone areas. Go even farther is that case. install a faucet at the back corners of your 36" sink. This'll make it possible for two people to use water, when necessary, without waiting or interfering with each other. Another option is a separate prep sink for even more convenience. Get the most function out of the size of your kitchen space. Imo, 75% of kitchens or more, would function better without a 30 or 36" cleanup sink.

"I complain all the time about poor design wasting valuable counter space for an unnecessarily oversize sink. An extra 15 inches of counter to prep at can be super important especially if more than one is working in your kitchen."

This problem is much better resolved by simply purchasing a 36" workstation sink. Now you've got the counterspace back and the larger sink.

You don't have counter to use your stand mixer, work dough, use an InstaPot, and the myriads of actions where open space in preferable to a cutting board in a sink. There are hundreds.

I have no complaints with a double bowl sink but feel that I need to join the cool girls and get a single bowl workstation.

We are not big turkey eaters but every few years when we cook one that pan is only 14 inches.

My thought is that I value counter space over sink size but I could be wrong.

Don’t do something just because you want to be one of the so-called cool girls. That’s just silly. Spend your money on things that you find useful.

"...where open space in preferable to a cutting board in a sink."

When your cutting board is in the sink, it's not on the countertop, freeing that space for your stand mixer.