re: Grade of brisket?

Depends on what you're doing with it when it's done cooking. Select brisket is fine for chopped beef sandwiches/tacos/enchiladas/whatever.

Choice and prime will give you a better chance at a good outcome if you aren't planning on spending maximum time smoking. If you buy select, plan on a low and slow smoke, don't plan on trying to rush it.

Select is real good if you want to grind the brisket for burgers or chili. You'll pay significantly less than you do for regular ground beef.

It does matter. Select has less intramuscular fat (marbling). Long, slow cooking, will cause it to dry out easier as a result. You may be able to get away with it if you were chipping it up, but it’s definitely less forgiving. It’s cheaper for a reason. Grading meat is voluntary (all meat has to be USDA inspected, but grading is not mandatory). The higher the grade, the more marbling.
Breed of cattle also matters. Black angus has bloodlines connected to wagyu breed. That’s why you pay more for CAB (certified Angus beef). This is not to be confused with red angus, which sometimes is advertised as “angus.” It’s a sleight of hand. TMI, but the bottom line is: quality in / quality out & garbage in / garbage out

Brisket test - select vs choice vs prime by Mad Scientist BBQ
LINK

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Well worth the money to get prime.

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COSTCO has prime brisket for $4.29/lb. That's cheaper than ground beef.