Gel or goo from a can is not sacrilege. It is just
common, boring and in general unsatisfactory.
The process of building a good lather like
making a good cup of coffee or a good cup
of tea improves life.
It is sort of like adding well prepared fresh vegetables
to a meal. My Dad used to take a can of soup
and add fresh vegetables from his garden. When
he was done the soup was no longer soup from
a can it was healthy and tasty too.
As you shop hunt for the classic Williams shave
soap or perhaps van der hagen shave soap. Not
because they are good but because they are
inexpensive and if you take some time and tinker
with them you will learn a lot about making a fine
lather and not break the bank.
Also I might note that not all shave creams
are intended to lather. Some gels work very well
when applied thinly to a face freshly washed in the
shower. Some are well compounded for tossables
and DE shaving (think traveling). Some even work
for str8 shaving.
Some shave soaps are seasonal....i.e. best
in the winter but suffer in the heat of the summer.
So if you find one that is "lacking" put it up for a
couple of months and try it again. If it is lacking
a couple of seasons in a row then toss it.