Yep I heard you on that- I was indeed pleasantly surprised by Graffeo in San Franciso. All they do is roast beans and ship them, the business is owned by a 68 year old Italian guy who knows his beans. I found them by accident- I was in North End (little Italy) area and popped into a local hole in the wall shop for an espresso. It was one of the best I'd ever tasted, pulled right from a classic Elektra double group machine (simply beautiful). I asked where they bought their beans, and the guys all spoke up at once (with typical Italian flair and hands waving) and shouted "Graffeo- down the street - we only use Graffeo!" I was told to get the half dark and half light mix (what they use), but I opted for the all dark. Which was wonderful, very much a lot of chocolate and hints of cinnamon. Heck of an amount of crema (sometimes more than half the double shot is nothing but crema)- very easy to pull a Ristretto once you find the right grind, and extremely tasty. I'm going to re-order a few pounds of the half/half mix, or just get a few pounds of dark and a few pounds of light / mix my own. It is $16/lb and an order will take 2 weeks to fill- they literally process 200+ orders per day online.
Outside of thtat, Intelligentsia "Black Cat" is a decent one, not as good as Graffeo but far better than SBUX. There is no way you can ever hope to pull a Ristretto with starbucks beans, it is an over roasted and poorly done blend- but, it is not expensive and easy to get. I only make milk drinks with it- Straight espresso shots with it are way too bitter.
What out of country beans are you using?