Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is truly an (accidental?) setback of color reproduction as it has progressed over time. For LED lights R9 is also crucial for skin tones which makes it so bad to just leave that out. Now, the mass produced LEDs are even optimized for CRI at all are virtually all excluding R9, which may be one of the main quality issues that many people perceive with LEDs vs eg incandescent. There’s of course more to it but R9 pr…
what's the alternative metric to look for as a consumer?
Unfortunately, there isn't really a way for a consumer to know short of buying a spectrometer like my Sekonic C-800 Spectromaster.
For illustration, I have uploaded a few readings here, mostly flashlights, not LED bulbs: https://majid.info/images/reddit/spectro/
If you look at the Zebralight SC64c LE, for instance, it has an excellent Ra of 92, but only 75 for R9:
https://majid.info/images/reddit/spectro/ZL_SC64cLE/SC64cLE_...