Advice on narrowing down laminate underlayment for soundproofing 2F condo? (flooring, tile)

[GoldenKiwi]

San Diego. I'm replacing the carpeting in my 2F condo (that I'll be living in) with laminate and I don't want any issues with my downstairs neighbor. I'm aware that carpeting is the best option for noise reduction but the only decent carpeting I found was 3x the cost of the laminate I liked so I dropped that idea quick.

The condo is 625 sq ft, ~600 of which would be covered by laminate and ~25 covered by slate in the small kitchen and bathroom areas (which also currently have slate, I just don't like the style of what's there now).

I was able to find numerous options for soundproofing but have no idea on how to proceed in picking the most cost effective option. The installation guide recommends to use "premium grade laminate flooring underlayment" which doesn't help much. Keep in mind I'll have to get HOA approval for everything.

Here are the options I have found thus far (open to other suggestions of course):

Cork

Rubber

Serena

Stone wool

Everything else

I would assume the HOA wouldn't allow any structural changes to the subfloor as shown in the Serena and stone wool options, please correct me if I'm wrong.

At this point without knowing really anything I'm inclined to go with this for the laminate and this for the slab (is it even necessary for the slab?) as they appear to be the most cost effective options, but if there's a noticeably better option I'm willing to spend more.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by GoldenKiwi

I'm aware that carpeting is the best option...

You (and your neighbor) will never be happy with the effects of laminate...
regardless of what sort of under layment you might use.
More critically... the HOA agreement probably requires carpeting.

[GoldenKiwi]

Originally Posted by MrRational

You (and your neighbor) will never be happy with the effects of laminate...
regardless of what sort of under layment you might use.
More critically... the HOA agreement probably requires carpeting.

No, I've seen a couple other 2F units in the complex with laminate and it's a significant improvement. There are good reasons as to why most people don't put in carpeting anymore...

[K'ledgeBldr]

Ive used this-

Foam Products

It has some really good sound-absorbing qualities. Is there better? Maybe. But compared to the other products that were available it seemed far superior.