I've used Jeffs rub for a month now on alot of things. It is a great place to start. Easy to make w/very easy to find spices(I too live in a small town).
I find his rub to be on the sweet side. I've been "testing" by reduce'n some things and adding other things. It is a great rub, but I always gotta try out something else..........gets boring using the same ol thing.
It is the cheapest rub you will buy. One price, one time, rub forever. Another reason I bought it was due to this site. I want it to keep going and I will try to buy what I can thru him/the site.
I haven't bought the sauce yet. We really don't sauce much at all, but I will be buy'n the sauce this winter when I get a list of things I want to buy from here.
If $20 will break you, don't do it. Otherwise, cough it up as this site will help you way more than that $20 is worth.
good luck
ie, most basic rub that works is k.salt and ground blk pepper. It will work just fine on everything.