Some chuck roasts can be roasted but chuck, while extremely tasty, can be chancy when dry cooked. Again, this is where the butcher earns his pay. Pot roasts, another homey family meal of yesteryear, are somewhat of a misnomer since they are technically not roasted but braised and involve more sinewy cuts such as chuck shoulder roasts and top blade roasts. As for meat grading, you're unlikely to come across prime meat for your roast because restaurants and a few high-end retailers have snapped up most of it. There is a broad range of choice, the next grade down from prime.
Most supermarkets sell the select grade, the next one down from choice.
When you're shopping, figure on eight to 10 ounces of uncooked, boneless meat per person. Increase that to 12-15 ounces per person if the roast has bones. Invariably this means you'll have some leftovers. The king beef roasts is the standing rib roast. But if roast beef is an occasional thing, a standing rib roast is even more so, because it's usually larger and more expensive.