The introduction of transgenic technology to US cotton production in 1996 brought rapid changes in varieties grown. Environment and management are known to affect yield and fiber quality. This paper attempts to document the impact of variety selection on yield and fiber quality of cotton produced in the Mid-South and Southeastern states from 1995 to 2001. A total of 58 varieties made up approximately 90 percent of the varieties planted in the picker market excluding Acala and Pima cottons. Variety performance data was compared for public data only against Delta and Pine Land Company field trials. The two data sets are in close agreement regarding response of the 58 varieties across the US (R² of 0.71, 0.94, 0.96, 0.88, and 0.81 for lint yield, fiber length, fiber strength, micronaire, and fiber length uniformity, respectively with N = 7,300 for public data and N = 11,131 for D&PL data). When year and environmental effects were removed, variety choice by growers resulted in an average increase of 5.9 lbs lint/A/yr, a reduction of 0.05 staple units (32^nds of an inch) per year, no change in fiber strength or fiber length uniformity, but an increase of 0.013 micronaire units per year between 1995 and 2001.