\usepackage{mathpazo} is pretty nice. Palatino plus good math fonts.
The problems with CM are twofold. First, it's an inconsistent and amateur remake of Modern, especially italics. The bowls and straight lines are different angles and widths. Second, the postscript converted version used on most platforms is weirdly, bizarrely thin compared to the original Modern, which does not make for a good reading experience.
The problems with CM are twofold. First, it's an inconsistent and amateur remake of Modern, especially italics. The bowls and straight lines are different angles and widths. Second, the postscript converted version used on most platforms is weirdly, bizarrely thin compared to the original Modern, which does not make for a good reading experience.