Hi Kripen,
I think the first place I would start is post #1 here which links to some of the most relevant information on the site which will help answer most of your questions and help you make the best possible choices.
As you can also read in post #2 here … the goal of a mattress is to provide you with PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences) in all your sleeping positions using the highest possible quality of materials that are available in your budget range that will ensure that the mattress keeps it original feel and performance as long as possible.
Post #14 here also talks about the potential benefits of a thicker mattress but thicker is not necessarily “better” unless the specific design and layering of the thicker mattress provides you with better PPP for your body type, sleeping style, and preferences. For some people … a 6" mattress can be a better “match” than a 12" mattress. The most reliable way to know is your own careful and objective testing using the testing guidelines that are linked along with the guidance of the people you are dealing with.
If a mattress provides you with good PPP and the materials are good quality (and latex is among the best quality materials) … then the thickness of a mattress is not really relevant.
Some of the better options in the Connecticut area and some comments are listed in post #2 here and Custom Sleep Systems is listed there and would be well worth considering IMO. They are what I call “mattress people” and long term factory direct manufacturers will often have better value as well as many years of knowledge and experience in making mattresses that they can use to help their customers make good choices. there is also a link there to a thread with some feedback from one of our members that did some great research in the area.
ILD information is not really relevant when you are testing a mattress locally because it has nothing to do with quality and your body will provide you with much more accurate information about comfort and support than “comfort specs” which are meaningless for most people that aren’t familiar with what each ILD feels like in different materials. I would also make sure though that you aren’t just testing a mattress for “subjective comfort” because more objective and specific testing can be a much better indicator of your long term sleeping experience and greatly improve your odds of making good choices.
Phoenix