Consumer Reports said Kirkland (Costco) alkalines were the best alkilines. It might be worth a cruise by the library to see what the results of CR tests indicate. One test is worth a thousand opinions.
I think the Consumer Reports tests related to use in devices more like digital cameras, which have short bursts of high drain interspersed with longer periods of low drain. This pattern of use is not typical of portable recording gear, where power draw is closer to constant over time.
And shopping at Costco requires a membership.
Also, if you look at the actual test results, most alkaline batteries were pretty close together. In my experience, generic alkaline batteries all do just about as well as brand names. Whenever I get a new type of alkaline, I monitor the voltage while I discharge one through an 8 ohm resistor to check them out. So far they've all been pretty similar.
I've seen good prices on generic alkaline batteries at a local supermarket, at a Harbor Freight Tools location, and at a Big Lots store.