last time i bought an ESC brushless wasn't even a concept yet. back then all you needed to know was the motor and cell limits.

while im sure this still plays a roll, my main concern is compatibility between brands.

can you use any brushless motor(sensored, sensorless) with any ESC, as long as its within the ESC's motor limits?

im leaning towards the Reedy sensored motors for now but unsure of where to look for a reasonably priced ESC to back it up

If you run a sensored motor you will need an ESC with sensored capability to run best. Some ESCs can only run sensored, others only sensorless, while in my opinion the best ESCs do both. All of the common brands should work just fine with the Reedy motor as long as they run sensored motors. I would recommend the Hobbywing Xerun or Tekin RS. In my opinion they both work equally well. Hobbywing offers excellent prices while Tekin offers some of the best customer service in the business and years of racing experience.

thank you for the informative response