Generally speaking, you need a bit more water when cooking brown rice.

But what do you mean "never comes out good?" Undercooked, not softened enough or what? What would mean "good" for your taste?

Growing up in a rice-based culture from Asia, I often find the "western counterparts" have different ideas about a good-cooked rice. For instance, for plain rice, I've never seen anyone in my country adding either oil nor butter during cooking. That will ruin the nature sweetness, fragrance and texture of the good rice, especially for the high-quality types.

Even within Asia, different cultures have different standards for "the right ways" to cook rice. For instance, my Iranian friend once told me if anyone made rice the way my country people did, that would be qualified as a bad cook. He said Iranians likes their rice stay "individualized" and separate from each other when done, while we like it more toward the sticky end, to each his own.