The best quality of beef in the US is the official grade US Prime. It
must have a high degree of marbling of fat, among other things. Under
one percent of US beef meets US Prime standards. For the home, you
usually have to order it from a few high end compaies such as Allen
Bros. in Chicago or Lobels in NYC. In addition to being of US prime
grade, the beef must be properly aged. Most quality US beef is now wet
aged(wraped to prevent evaporation). However tradational dry aged beef
can be had from a very few top compaies. The wet aged beef has a
somewhat milder taste than the dry aged which has a more nutty taste.
The aging time runs from about 3 weeks to 5 weeks for the best beef. The
best beef in the US usually comes from the midwest where it is fed grass
and hay when it is young. However it must be fed a high corn diet near
the end to reach the high standards of US prime. The Japanese breed
Wagyu is now grown somewhat in the US. This requires even more special
feeding to reach high quality including mash from distilleries. In
short, top beef requires a special diet, at least near the end, to reach
the highest quality. This is somewhat the same situation as for foie
gras production, but in a much less extreme form. Although I could
obtain a top prime rib roast at home, that is just too much meat for me.
Thus I would order it at a restaurant instead - if I can find one of the
few restaurants that serve top quality beef. For home use, I find the
best cut for roasting is about the center two pound part of the best US
prime tenderloin, either from the usual beef breeds or Wagyu. This
should be completely trimmed of external fat. A row of truffle pieces
inserted in the center helps greatly. No larding is needed for the top
grade of beef, for the high degree of marbling provides plenty of fat
for a tender roast.

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