i'm looking to upgrade a crankset (chainring has a lot of high/low spots) and overall it's a stock lower quality set. everyone is in love with omniums but i don't think i have the legs or budget to warrant spending that kind of money on the stiffest track crank i can find. or maybe it's not about ability, and the stiffness is worth it in the long run for quality…. any thoughts or recommendations?

also i'm getting a lot of noise off the chain. part of the issue was the chainring. i swapped it out for a sugino ring i had on an older bike which quieted the crank up. the generic cog in the back is still pretty noisy. i double checked the alignment of the crank/cog so the chain is straight and greased it, and the tension is even but it still sounds like i've got a baseball card in the spokes. any cogs you've used that seem quieter than the rest?