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One of my sisters raises four chickens in her backyard and they produce quite a number of eggs. I've had the eggs from her chickens many times and I prefer them to anything store-bought. The flavor of her chickens' eggs is so much richer and knowing they weren't treated with any hormones or other chemicals is a definite plus. I'll be replenishing my supply this coming Sunday afternoon.
"Cage Free" doesn't actually mean much. The hens can still be 20,000 in a barn, beaks clipped to prevent cannabalism, with no access to the outside. They just aren't confined to laying cages where they can't move. The term has nothing to do with the quality of the eggs.
"Free Range," on the other hand, means the birds have access to the outside at least part of the day. For the best small farm organic growers, that means the hens are feeding outside in grassland, scratching for bugs, etc. That's the source of the best quality eggs.
But buyer beware, there are also some large farms now that advertise their eggs as "free range" and comply with the letter of the law by opening a door in the barn that merely leads to a holding pen outside... no grass, no meal worms, nada but dirt. So be sure to seek out small local farmers for the full experience of what "free range" can mean. If a carton says "free range" and you are in a big box store, just put it down, back away slowly, and leave quietly, because it is an attempted robbery.
Probably been said before, but cage free, free range, etc. means nothing. The USDA doesn't really strictly regulate those terms. I always buy organic and preferably from a local farm from a farmer's market. Look in the sunday paper or craigslist as well, you'd be surprised how many people actually have chickens at their own homes that end up getting way more eggs than they expect and therefore start selling them. You can stop by and buy some. But yes, eggs, hell meat and all other food that comes from less abused animals is far, far superior in quality and taste than factory farmed trash. When you abuse animals and raise them in conditions that make them sick, you'll get inferior products.
I have no problem at all shelling out $5.99 for eggs that don't come from sick animals vs. $2.99 for eggs from sick animals. Get them directly from someone that has their own hens and they'll give you a dozen eggs for $2.
There's a difference in smell, definitely. I have a sensitive nose, and the smell of eggs, either raw or cooked without adornment, is kind of icky to me. What's worse is the smell of the bowl after I've poured the beaten eggs into the pan. No matter how much I scour that bowl, it just smells lousy. I usually give it a lemon juice and water soak and rinse AFTER I've washed it, and before I set it out on the rack to dry.
Farm-fresh eggs aren't nearly as pungeant. They still smell - just not as badly.
You are the only other person I've found who has that problem! The smell of eggs - and sometimes, chicken - really puts me off, and the whole kitchen stinks, too. The smell definitely sticks to the dishes. Yuck.
We had Rhode Island Reds when I was a young teen; I don't remember the smell being so bad. Maybe it has something to do with the age of the egg? Anyway, their eggs were delicious, and they had an almost orange yolk.
Free range eggs means that the chickens are let out of their cages for a minimum of one hour a day, hopefully longer for their sake.
I buy Egglands cage free organic with extra omega's. Cage free means they are free roaming. And with them being organic they're not given any hormones or fed anything synthetic.
Personally I think they taste better. It's like with beef, if you feed a cow hay it's whole life you'll get one flavor of meat, and if you feed it corn you'll get another. Same way with chickens, they are what they eat.
Cage free only means they arent in a teeny cage where they can't move. Cage free birds are usually crammed by the thousands in a large metal building. They still don't see the light of day or get to eat greens and bugs.
I buy our eggs from local farms, and can see for myself how the hens live. They live a life of leisure in large pens, and produce the most delicious eggs.
I can taste the difference. Eggs, meat, and milk taste differently depending on what the animal ate. I buy cage-free, because those birds are eating bugs and scratching around in the dirt like they're supposed to. I DON'T buy vegetarian-fed cage free, because I find it hypocritical and untrue to claim the birds are eating vegetarian if they are cage free. Insects and worms are NOT vegetarian.
That just means that the feed contains no animal by-products. As others mentioned, cage free chickens don't get to go outside and play.
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I'll be replenishing my supply this coming Sunday afternoon. 
