AHem. The "generation" idea: I'm thinking not! Lol. I'm just 30. For me it's not about looks, but function. I spent a billion dollars, roughly, on the drawers in my kitchen. The extra couple hundred bucks to make things quieter is a tiny, tiny, amount to me. It's worth noting that I live in a "super insulated house". The upshot of that is that outside noise no longer drowns out inside noise... so you combat the inside noise more.
Spongey Cork: Cork is naturally waterproof (think of the wine bottles with cork poppers).
Tacking down: Totally not necessary. It may tend to "hump up" for the first few days just because it comes in a roll but after a few weeks with pans on it will relax and lay flat. Just make sure you get a good fit and it will sit there quietly for the next 20 years.
Buying: You can normally get "a little" square feet of rolled cork underlayment like the link at a place that stocks standard cork flooring. They often need a piece of a roll to do a room.
Morgen.
Q
We can make our own organizers
Q