Compatible with OS X 13.1?

What external CD/DVD drives are compatible with High Sierra and APFS? I have resigned myself to buying a new drive but I want to make sure it is compatible with iTunes and with Photos media FIRST.

The internal SuperDrive stopped working several years ago. I bought a Pioneer drive last year (DVRTS09) that worked great (connected by USB) until I upgraded -- since 13.1, as my Mac doesn't recognize the Pioneer disc for writing to anymore!

System Information can recognize the Pioneer as a burner drive, but nothing really useful seems to recognize it as a disc burner. Finder does not show the external drive on the desktop. Disk Utility does not recognize it in any way, so I can't mount it. But as I say, it worked fine before the upgrade in OS.

When I insert a CD, it recognizes the CD itself in Finder and will import to iTunes, but I can't burn from iTunes to a blank disc. I have been wanting to share some old favorite mp3's with family members, but I am unable to burn a CD from a playlist. When I insert a blank disc, it shows up in Finder but not in iTunes.

The problem since OS X 13.1 has cost hours of research, resetting the SMC, trying various fixes - without any improvement.
Very frustrating!

Thanks for your help.

My Mac is a Late 2009 Intel running OS High Sierra v. 10.13.1