What's the best method for ripening bosc pears, and how can I tell when they're ripe?

I’m beginning to think that the time at which they are picked is crucial to the quality of how they will turn out. Whenever I buy them, I either get good ones, or duds. My grandmother told me to never put them in the fridge when you bring them home, but leave them on the counter. After a few days there if I can sense they may be going bad, I’ll put them in the fridge.
When I’m at the store, I actually like seeing what people call “imperfections” on them. I like seeing those black spots and the cuts in them. From past experience, that assures me that they will taste good. If they are too “perfect” looking, it tells me they will be hard and tasteless. You can also feel the difference in texture.

Wait, are you talking about when they’re on a tree?

No, @dxs, I got them at a store. Your experiences echo mine. But having had several bad ones, I have started buying Bartletts all the time (coward that I am). I want to branch out to Bosc and D’anjou!

I hope somebody comes up with some good advice. I love pears but am sick of winding up with tasteless baseballs.

I heard that if you put other fruit with bananas, as the bananas ripen they release a gas which will ripen the other fruit. You could try that

I see. Pears are the only fruits I like sweet. So if you want this too, try feeling them and looking at them while you’re at the store. As I said, I tend to buy the ones that aren’t spotless and are slightly squishy. This is only backed by my previous experiences, nothing more.
I can’t remember what Bartletts are like but I have yet to eat a good-tasting D’anjou. They’re crisp and have a bland taste (sorta like a tasteless baseball I guess). They taste as if they’re unripe. If you’re not satisfied with how your Bosc pears are, then I can’t see how you’d like D’anjous. They seem like they’re only good for cooking or something.

What I do is to bite into one and if it is fine than I quickly eat the others. If not ripe than I eat it anyway and try again the next day and repeat.

I visited the pear growers association booth at the California state fair, and this is what I learned:

Pears are one fruit that will ripen after being picked, unlike watermelons, for example.
Just let the pears ripen at room temperature.
Bartletts are the only variety that will turn yellow as it ripens. With others it is harder to tell because they won’t change color. The best way is to feel the stem end, right next to the stem. As the pear ripens, this part of the pear will soften first. Now, different people like their pears at different stages of ripeness, so you need to learn for yourself how soft the stem end needs to be for your maximum satisfaction.

@2davidc8 That method worked perfectly. Thanks!

@marinelife You’re welcome. The method works for me, too, and now I’m trying all sorts of varieties of pears, including Comice, Red D’Anjou, Winter Nellis, Bosc, etc.