The question is, "What criteria is most important for civilian, personal, defensive 9mm ammo?"
No one on a forum can decide this for another individual, but thoughts and recommendations ought to be considered.
Traditional JHP's are getting cheaper because there have been great advances in bullet design that have decreased their desirability. It's not that cup and core JHP's are bad, it's just that sometimes they don't expand, depending on velocity (barrel length, projectile weight), media encountered, plugged HP, etc. Ballistic gel testing has changed the game in some ways in terms of how we think about these. However, well known YT celebrity, PH, has probably sold truckloads of "Remington G&W box 115gr JHP's" with his thoracic cavity simulation test. In some ways he is right that a premium bullet is not required for penetration and adequate expansion. Cost is usually the driver on this one, but last time I checked, Remington L9mm1 wasn't that much less expensive than a deal on some performance ammo.
The next consideration is: If you choose one of the increasingly popular barrier blind ammos, will it attain adequate expansion in your CCW? Some of the same cartridges used by your local LEO work great in their full size duty handguns, but won't expand in your compact or subcompact CCW. Some are purchasing high end ammo that has terminal ballistics similar to FMJ, simply due to this factor. You don't have to gel test yourself, but that is why it is important to at least chrono the ammo out of your CCW and compare with the myriad of gel tests out there to see if it expands at your measured velocity.
Another thought is that ammo manufacturers are increasingly making premium bullets to look pretty for the gel test, even though their performance is similar to their "gets the job done, but not as pretty" counterparts.
Last thought is that 9mm is really a teeter totter of balancing penetration and expansion, especially with the large range of bullet weights. There are a lot of great choices now, with tests to substantiate performance. Part of the reason this is a hotbutton topic is that this isn't just HST vs GS vs GD anymore.