I'm no expert, but I'm guessing many will suggest bartzella which I'm sure you know probably costs close to $100.

I think Kinko looks nice and affordable.

I don't necessarily like the center of High Noon, but that's just my personal taste.

Kinkaku is a mix of colors, not just yellow...I've seen some beautiful catalog pics of it and some not so pretty looking pics posted by folks like you and me.

On the herbaceous front, I'm tempted to splurge for Huang Jin Lun (Golden Wheel), just because it's yellow...although it looks like it may be a fader in the sun...maybe someone can speak to that.

In the meantime this post/link might be of some help...

Here is a link that might be useful: Yellow Peonies Post

houdinii,
yes, thank you for the posts on yellows. I had read it before and took a lot of notes from it...great resource for a general list and nice to have it referenced here for anyone else that may not have seen it. But that post was not very specific on growth habits and such, depth of color, fragrance, vigor, hardiness, etc.

I really want to know which yellows people who have experience growing have found they like the best and why to see if something might fit into my criteria....buy once, enjoy forever is what I hope.

I have grown High Noon for many years. The blooms look me in the eye some years, like the one just over.It gets about5' here for me. I would like to try Bartzella, but so far haven't been able to turn loose of the money. As far as I'm concerned High Noon is as good as any.

I planted a "Sunny Girl" 3 years ago. Wow, the plant is healthier, more lush, and just plain the most beautiful of my 4 different peonies. The blooms are paler yellow, but definitely yellow and huge. I had about 20 large blooms and numerous smaller ones this year in the Chicago area. I only gave it some bone meal the first year it was planted. This plant is well worth the $75 that I spent to get it.