Gardenall,
I never have had Transcendent, but have seen it offered from several Southern nurseries, so it's probably a good one.
'Callaway' crab is another good one, and a favorite in my family - good for fresh eating - you can fill your pockets and munch away on those tasty 1.5" crabapples - and for jelly. Was originally selected at Callaway Gardens in west GA, so should do well for you; good disease resistance, heavy producer.

'Centennial'(DolgoXWealthy) crab is a top performer for me here in hot zone 6 - but also worked well for my Dad, down on the z7-8 interface in east Alabama. Larger, sweeter fruit than Callaway - in the 2-2.5" size range. Its half-sib, "Kerr'(DolgoXHaralson) is also a nice one(flavor is more tart), but I never tried it down at Auburn, so can't swear that it'd work for you.
'Craven' Crab - is another one that should do well in The South; mine hasn't fruited yet, so I can't give first-hand testimonial. Only place I've seen it offered is from Lawson's Nursery at Ball Ground GA.
In general, the large-fruited red-fleshed crabs, like Geneva, Giant Russian, Winter Red Flesh, etc., are gonna be crappy(and scab-ridden) in hot humid Southern conditions - only worth growing there if you're gonna be using them to provide some red color to jam, and in that instance, some of the red-fleshed ornamental crabs,might be much more reliable picks.
'Chestnut' and 'Wickson' crabs consistently win taste tests for fruit quality - but again, I don't know how they'll do in LA - I've not fruited them here in southern KY .