Are there any really good cd cleaners out there?

Shame on anyone who needs to clean one.

Dish soap under lukewarm water. Dry with compressed air.

Armor All is made of silicones and glycerin to be left behind.
Its raison d'etre is humans like shiny stuff.
It's designed to leave a residue.
Residue is a no-no on anything optical.

Windex can also be nasty stuff also leaving a residue.
It requires mechanical removal to the dry surface.

Dish soap or car wash rinsed away and dried by blowing the water away leaves discs 100% clean and 100% residue free with 0% chance of drying damage.

@georgehifi  +100 on the bogusola @ Machina Dynamica and its progentitor.

then it should be possible to capture the data stream pre and post treatment and do a bit by bit comparison.