Oh, I'm so sorry you've been having such a difficult time with the shipped eggs. You are not alone. And you do need to get some chicks now so that they'll be laying before winter. Hatched right now, they'll likely lay around late September. So, yeah, there's no time like the present to get your chicks. And sometimes there aren't many options depending on where you live.
Do try Craig's List because you can get some breeds that you'll know what they are and if they're decent layers. Plus, you will likely get local chicks so then you know that they have a good chance to do well in your location weather-wise (hot or cold weather). There are no chicks in my local area on Craig's List, so if you're area is like that, then the feed store is looking like a pretty good option right now.
So, hopefully the feed store has a few bins that are marked with breed and gender. If the unmarked bins is all you've got, then hopefully, they're marked "pullets."
I'm not very good at this, but I'll tell what little I know. Hopefully others will help with what they know because you may be out of options, optimism, and money (after buying shipped eggs and poor results).
Take your hatchery catalog with you if you have one. The photos it contains of the chicks can be invaluable. Call for a catalog today and then you'll have one for next year.
A black bird with a white dot on its head is likely a Barred Rock. The ones with the blacker legs are usually the girls. They do lay well almost always. Some are perfectly friendly, some a little bit bossy, and some a little noisier than others, which means they are regular chickens. They could also be Dominiques.
The black chickens with the white belly and a little on the wings might be a Australorp. Know for being good layers. The white might have a light yellow tinge to it.
The puffy cheeks, which you can see if you can stare the chicken right in the face, are usually going to be a green egg layer. Some people call them Easter Eggers. Winter hardy and good layers almost always.
A little nob on the top of the head is often a Polish which lay a white egg usually and need trimming of their crests (head plumes) because they can't see because the feathers hang down over their faces. Have to watch for bugs in their crests.
The ones that have marbled backs (black, yellow, white, brown, gray, rust) are likely Campines. They lay small white eggs and are flighty.
The ones that are white all over with maybe one or two black circular dots placed randomly are Austra Whites from Dunlap. The Austra White is a Australorp and Leghorn cross and are supposed to be great layers. Usually large combs need some Vaseline (or organic alternative) on comb once a week in freezing weather to avoid frostbite. California White may also be similar, but I can't remember, I think they may be yellow with a random black dot or two.
The chipmunk stripes ... you want the more defined line because they are more often girls. I read that in some chicken book somewhere, but who knows the validity? The Speckled Sussex are really dark as opposed to the light yellow on some chipmunk birds, but I'm not sure this is true in every case.
Yellow chickens are usually a good bet and are often a Production Red of some sort and this could also be the rusty red you are talking about. But you might get a Buff Orpington or two or maybe a White Rock or Delaware with the yellow birds.
The yellow with the gray birds you mention sound possibly like White Orpingtons, but stare them in the face and see if they're not green eggs layers with the puffy cheeks. A lot of green eggs layers have a blue/gray undertone. The White Orp chicks I've seen are basically light yellow and have little gray patches here and there all over them and not in a pattern. End up white. Good layer.
Okay, that's the best I can do. I could be wrong on any of the above points. If you're desperate, which it sounds like you might be, then that might help.
I will agree with the person who said something like life's too short to spend it on chickens you don't enjoy. But sometimes you run out of options and sometimes you don't know what you like or don't like until you've tried them out for a few years. Or come fall, you could always give them away on Craig's List. I see quite a few requests for full grown hens on Craig's List. Next year, you'll know exactly what you want and can order some hatching eggs from a breeder to put in your incubator.
Truth be told, I'm not sure what to think of the whole assortment bin idea for the feed store except that I can get a couple of new breeds that I wouldn't be able to try out otherwise because I just don't need a whole bunch of Brahmas running around. So that's what I'm trying out. I hear they're really calm and a reasonable layer. We'll see.
Now, spill. What's in your incubator?!
