i've only ever used crisco, so i don't know. i try to stock up on it when it goes on sale, or i buy it at sams' it's under $6 for the big can there. read the ingredients and see if they are exactly the same, you could always buy a small can of the generic and see if you notice a difference
I use the walmart brand but i never make crisco buttercream.
I use it when i make tortillas or pie crusts.
I use the Crisco because the generic looks yucky after a couple of weeks and I throw it away!
We went to the RV Show on Sunday and we watched a cooking show there that turned out to be a sells show for really good pans. The guy that was cooking said look at this shortening all it does it go in and clog all the arteries! And goes to your butt! So now I'm freaked because thats what I use for icing! And my husband already was told he will have problems with his heart! So I sure wish there was a recipe without it in it!
I think that it really has to do with what other brand you try. I have always used used Crisco until recently when I had some Western Family shortening (from Save On Foods in Canada) and the store was closed. I actually liked it better than Crisco and have been using it since, my icing was smoothing much better with this shortening and it tastes just fine, it is also pure white so there is no difference in appearance. Sometimes you just have to try things to see what "you" like as we all have different tastes 
I use Albertson's vegetable shortening and have noticed no difference in my icing.
Alise, try IMBC - no Crisco in that, just butter.
I have used Wal-Mart brand and find it is yucky! But Albertson's seems fine. It might just depend on the generic brand you use. I guess not all generics are the same. Also I never ever use generic powdered sugar! It has to be pure cane or it comes out chalky and gritty. And I use half butter half shortening icing, so maybe the generic shortening just isn't as noticable in my icing.
I use a creamy Generic. I've gone through several tests for myself, and that's just what I prefer. Generic's are mostly made by companies that make the higher priced ones as well. If you get "solid" shortening no matter what brand you buy, it's still not gonna be as good as a this stuff is.
For those of you concerned with the health aspect of Crisco, they do have a Trans Fat Free version. It's harder to find, but trans fats are a contributor to heart issues, and that is probably what that person was talking about in the previous post.
Where do you find Sweetex? I've never seen it.
Sweetex is a high-ratio shortening. I get it at my local cake decorating store. You can also buy it online but it comes in 50 lb blocks--that would be a bit too much for me. lol!
I used to use Crisco and once I tried high-ratio, I never went back.
Lisa
I use Bake-rite, mostly because I got it on clearance for $.61/can. I bought one to test and then went back and bought the rest. I think it's just as good or better than Crisco, and now you can buy the trans fat-free version in the big can (Crisco only sells it in a small can and sticks where I am.) Of course, most of the time I use high ratio shortening in my icing, so I use the regular stuff for baking and frying now.
Before the other brands of no-trans-fat shortenings came out, I also tried one that Smart Balance makes with good results.
Not a huge fan of Kroger brand, though, so I guess it all depends on which one you use. I hate to see people brainwashed by a brand name, though.
Tanya - CK packages a high ratio shortening that you can get at Make-a-Cake for $7/3 lbs or Cake Craft Shoppe for I think $12/3 lbs. You can also get it in a 50 lb box from somewhere near Sugar Land, just don't remember the name of it or exactly where it is.
They might even come from the same factory!
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