Hi ByeAncientMattress,
First, I would recommend checking out my pillow thread, where I go over the different types of pillows and break down the pros and cons of each. I always approach things from a practical, everyday-use perspective, trying to put myself in the shoes of the person looking for help.
From your post, it sounds like you’re exploring options within a more budget-friendly range. Just keep in mind, pillows are a key part of your overall sleep system. Many companies invest heavily in research and development to design pillows that meet a wide variety of sleep needs and preferences.
The fact that you have been using a very budget friendly supermarket pillow, will hopefully make a transition to something a bit better a little easier.
The first pillow that comes to mind in this situation is this pillow from Sam’s Club. I have seen it at other locations, but Sam’s is an unbeatable price. Here is the catch. The pillow, for a larger person like me, 6’ 220lb, is not lofty and sturdy enough for me. As a stomach sleeper and back sleeper you may find it quite suitable. It depends on your size and weight. What I was able to do with this pillow set was to buy 2 sets. Literally, under $30. The liner that holds the memory foam fill is zippered.
What I ended up doing is transferring some of the fill from one of the pillows (about 50%) and added it to the 1st pillow to create a firmer, higher loft, side and back sleeping pillow, that was more suitable for me, and a favorite for some guests who have visited.
I did the same with the second set of pillows to create on nice pair of pillows for under $30, with extra stuffing in case the pillow starts to flatten over time.
The Brooklyn Bedding Shredded foam pillow is one in a category of adjustable pillows, but the price now is about $99, and they will send you an extra bag of fill if you find the pillow not full enough for your liking. I ordered the extra bag a couple of days after receiving that pillow, but they did such a great job stuffing the pillow, I never needed the fill to add to the pillow.
Custom Sleep Technology @CST has some awesome solid talalay latex pillows, in 3 firmness levels and you can ask them about a multiple unit discount as a TMU member.
The more broad the shoulders, the tougher it will be to have one pillow that will accommodate all three positions. I recently tried a Rest.com Evercool Pillow. If you like a pillow with a cover that feels like an ice cube when your head first hits it, this is your pillow. If you are a smaller lighter weight person, you will like this pillow as well. For me, it did not have the loft and firmness I am used to, but it is not all about me, so it will be great for most stomach and back sleepers, I thing it could fall short for taller, larger side sleepers.
Hopefully this will give you a good starting point. If you have any other questions regarding pillow choices, as you can read from my thread, I have no shortage of pillows, from budget to higher priced ones leveling off at the $300+ range.
Maverick