Definitely go to the granite yard; and, go to more than one if you have to.

As for Home Deport or any vendor, I have never purchased granite without looking at the slab, nor have I ever placed an order with out signing off on my choice. You can't trust a small sample in house.

Here are two slabs, both Alaska Blue...huge difference.

Granite yard all day. Especially if you’re in metro Atlanta.

Home Depot does not "carry" granite. The granite it "sells" comes from the stone yard used by HD's fabricator du jour. You can personally choose your slab(s) when buying through HD. Selecting natural stone is like buying a painting - to avoid disappointment you must view the whole thing.

I am a fabricator. I check Home Depot offerings once or twice a year just to evaluate the competition (or the lack of it). In my experience the people selling countertops at a Home Depot are substantially lacking in the knowledge needed to accurately present the options and considerations involved in selling natural stone. Laminate and Corian are less risky. Engineered stone (i.e. "quartz surface") is somewhere in the middle. A Big Box store is not a good place to buy stone countertops.

I had a small bar area in a previous house done in granite from Home Depot. No horror story -- it came out beautifully and the fabrication was top-notch. I forget what we picked, but it was a common stone that didn't have much variation -- i.e. a safe choice in terms of slabs probably don't vary widely.

That said, there is a whole world of choices at slab yards that HD, Lowe's et al doesn't carry. If it's only a small amount needed, check online for a stoneyard in your area that also sells remnants (not all do).

I'm a little surprised by your comment that you will "only go to one yard to look at stone." While I understand that shopping and going from place to place can be tiresome this choice is a major investment for your space that you will need to live with for many years to come. I encourage you to go to as many yards as necessary to find the right stone. Take pictures of the slabs and when you've chosen make sure they mark the one you've chosen. Then meet with your fabricator to discuss the fabrication and layout on the slab. In my opinion, do it right or don't do it at all.

My spouse refuses to go to more than one yard. We did that on the last granite project and it wore us out. Its hard for either of us to travel. I wouod be willing to go to two, maybe theem but no more driving from one yard to another.

Thevtrickmi to narrow down