Question for you mixed media artist!

I have had one heck of a time finding the right graphite to work with. It may be due to my lack of knowledge about graphite however, I see these wonderful images and always wonder what you all use for graphite because my attempts have failed. Either the graphite I get is too light almost like a pencil and it shines like led does, or it is dark and chalky and smears everywhere. any feedback would be so greatly appreciated!!