Centipedegrass is a VERY poor choice for the Raleigh area, so don't feel bad it died.

Zoysia is a good choice, but NOT Emerald, or Zeon, or Diomond, or even Zorro. They tend build up thatch VERY quickly when missmanaged, it is VERY difficult to mow with a rotary mower, and brown/dormant most of the year like all warm season grasses.

The best Zoysiagrass for the average homeowner with rotary-type mower are Meyer and Zenith. Compadre Zoysia is also a good choice, but it does not have the same winter hardiness and dark green color like Meyer or Zenith when properly fertilized. They also have the apearance of a Fescue/Bluegrass lawn, which is the type of grass that most people use and grow around here.

You can have a pure Kentucky Bluegrass lawn, that will give the best apearance, but you need irrigation and Fungicide program for the summer months.

The best combination for home sites without irrigation in the Raleigh area is Fescue/Bluegrass mix/blend. Is what sod farmers sell around here. You can find that type of sod at Lowe's or Home Depot. If you're going to seed instead, then you can purchase the seed almost anywhere. Just make sure the bag reads Fescue/Bluegrass.

I'm in Cary, so I'm very familiar with what grows here best.

I disagree with auteck here. Zoysia is definitely the best choice for the Raleigh area. You can actually see a lot of fescue lawns being switched over to zoysia year after year. Zeon Zoysia is the best of these mixes.

Fescue simply dies out every summer and needs to be reseeded every fall after it thins out and gets over run with weeds. Zoysia on the other hand, thrives during the months April thru October (when you are outside anyways), and requires far less maintenance as it is so thick weeds dont stand a chance!

Rock, do you realize your responding to a 1 1/2 year old post :)