so I disagree with the way John worded his statement, but that's the way most people think of it.
There are things called tank factors, and that is the ratio of psi to cubic feet. Basic article here
Precision Diving
Many tanks have similar tank factors whether they are lp or hp and in Europe they do away with it because they quote tank volume in liters say 10, and then at whatever pressure you are at in bar, say 200, you then have 200*10 total liters in the tank. Quite brilliant and the imperial system is dumb, especially when it comes to this.
Modern LP tanks, all of the 2400+ ones are regularly filled to 3600psi and have been for 30+ years and will continue to be for the rest of time, they do very well and have the convenience of being relatively cheaper when new and you don't have to deal with pesky exemptions from the DoT for hydrostatic testing. You can see threads about the recent PST debacle where people were concerned all of their HP and E series tanks were going to be condemned because the renewal wasn't processed. With Worthington and PST both out of the game for bottles, it will be a concern periodically, though it will 99.9% likely be resolved every time.
So, don't think about cubic footage if you have access to a shop that will pump your LP tanks up to higher pressure because a LP85 becomes almost a HP120 at 116cf, so they are nominally the same tank. Same as a LP95 becomes a HP130.
Buy tanks used, they depreciate like cars compared to their new price, and your best bet is to find a tank that fits what you need out of it and ignore what the working pressure is as long as the air volume is close.
I.e. for me I own and use the following tanks
HP120's, primary sidemount bottles and use as independent doubles for longer wreck dives. I am rather tall with a long back so the longer bottles work better for me and the HP120 offers one of the best cf/lb ratios in the tank sector. LP85's are next but have a little less volume.
LP72's in doubles, primary teaching set, nifty little tanks that are super cheap and are practically perfect in every way, except the pesky 2250+ working pressure and inability to really pump them over 2800/2900psi reliably. If you are doing single tank recreational diving with people in AL80's, this is the best alternative
LP45's, nice little light bottles for shallow cave diving about 63f/bottle at 3600 which is perfect for mental math on thirds
LP104's, in doubles, only use when I need a sh!tton of gas for deep/long dives to free up extra space for stages. Awesome doubles bottles, but god are they heavy.
I prefer PST to the other brands due to hot dip galvanizing for ocean diving and general abuse, but would choose Faber over Worthington due to superior build quality, but that is splitting hairs really. There are 2 main things you need to look at in a bottle before purchasing, especially for backmount. Length, everyone has an ideal cylinder length; this is determined by sitting on a flat surface and measuring from the surface to where your spine goes forward a little bit and subtract about 2 inches. You have a bit of wiggle room on either side to accommodate personal preference or the ideal number for part 2.
Part 2 is buoyancy when empty. All steel tanks are better than aluminum tanks for diving because you get a lighter tank for comparable volume, and because they don't float, you also have to carry less lead. An LP72 at 2700psi holds the same amount of gas as an AL80 at 3000psi, but is a little more than 5lbs lighter on the surface, and a little less than 5lbs more negative when empty, so you are carrying around 10 less pounds of gear for the same amount of gas and you are still neutral in the water, that's a win win. The LP72's are neutral when empty, similar to the LP85's from Faber which is why they are so popular as sidemount bottles for wetsuit diving. In contrast, most of the PST and other Faber bottles are between 1 and 1.5lbs negative when empty, so if you are diving thicker wetsuits, it is more lead that you are able to take off. Certain PST bottles, mainly the LP104 and HP80 are almost 3.5lbs negative when empty so they are great for people with a lot of bioprene or in thick undergarments in a drysuit. Many of the Worthington bottles are similarly negative and are about 1lb more negative than their PST equivalents. Faber made a medium pressure series which was 3180+ for working pressure, and these are very negative in the 7-8lbs range so they are good for those divers in the PNW or other cold regions that need a lot of lead on their belt. They are rather difficult to find, though I did see a set of MP72's on craigslist the other day.
Now, to circle back to the original question on what is better you have to first find the actual tank that you want and think will be best for you, and then you'll find there are a few options in that range. You're in New York, that means you'll most likely be in the salty stuff, so I would lean to PST or Worthington over their Faber cousins just due to rusting, the hot dip zinc is a bit more durable especially if your tanks aren't in boots, the bottom of the Fabers tend to wear through their painted zinc coating quite a bit faster. I also don't like their trim profiles when empty but again, that is all personal preference.
You also have to look at nominal capacity. This is a relatively important factor and unfortunately is dependent on your dive shop and what pressure they are willing to fill to. Consider your dive plans present and future, and try to approximate your gas requirements. I know I can do two dives on a single HP120, while most people will use two AL80's, IF I get a good fill, if they short change me, then the extra gas is wasted. Conversely, on a LP104, I can get two dives off of it where buddies are diving al80's even if I don't get a great fill, 3000lbs gives me 120cf of gas which is plenty. If I knew I would only get fills to working pressure, then I would likely lean to the HP tanks and go a bit over what I would expect I need, say an E8-130, and if they short change me by a little bit I won't be concerned. An E8-130 nets 120cf of gas at 3200psi, so I know as long as the fill is over 3200 I'm doing OK and everything else is bonus. Where I dive, I know I can always get HP/E series bottles filled to their working pressure, generally a bit over *3600psi is a nice number for gas planning*, and I also know they will fill my LP bottles to 3600. I know that I work best with 1.5lb nominal tanks because it allows me to use no lead in a drysuit with a pair of them, so at that point I would just find whatever I could get a good deal on in the 85+cf range for LP or the 120+ range for HP/E.
Sorry if that is a bit long winded, but it's a pretty interesting subject to think about, but the real important one is finding a tank that you're comfortable with on your back and gives you the most advantages in your diving.
