Well, everything is subjective, until it’s not.
As a younger guy in my mid 20s, I came into the AR world at just a couple years after the AWB Sunset.
When I purchased my first AR, the market was post Sandy-Hook and prices were just starting to come back down.
I did a bit of research, found what I THOUGHT was the best of both worlds; I really had just made my first big mistake in the AR world.
I purchased a rifle “Blem” AA-15, a Piston Driven Adams Arms with a Pinned FSB. I had bought into the Piston hype, but within that new marketing ploy, a lot of the important stuff stuck out.
Proper staking, barrel indexing, chrome or nitride barrels, pinned FSB or Free Floated (or both if you find the right setup).
While many would call this a “huge mistake”, “waste of money”, etc. I have found it to be one of the best educational lessons made with a $600 dollar gun I purchased through Buds, on Layaway. I was a young dude, still working my way up the pay scales.
I learned what worked very well with that rifle, and what gave me concerns. To this day, it’s still running with multiple thousand put on it. Is it getting close to where I worry about something breaking? Yeah, but when it does, I will get to “learn” more.
Since than, I have upgraded to something better as my “go-to” but, it’s still a very fun, reliable, rifle that brought me into the AR-World.
It’s been an ever evolving industry in the last 10-15 years, if not even longer.
It’s very easy to be a “Snob” and buy into the $300 KAC Sandcutters with the $900 Triple Taps, or the $300 dollar rails or etc. I would argue it’s even easier for those who are in the “Mid Market” not quite high, and not quite Andersons, to be the most gullible and tend to be very “justified” in their purchase (This is where I fell… Most Often. Nowadays, I am much more educated; I have plenty to keep me busy in the mean time while I let the savings build for something “top tier”). They buy into the hype of: “The MOEs are just plastic, so I bought a $50-$80 Free Floated rail instead.”
Snobbery occurs in all sorts of flavours and colours; in many ways, we all do it. The cheap buyers will criticize another for buying into the “name” or using it as a “status symbol”. How is it worded here, a “Company Shill”?. Or you could be looked down upon for going mid level, even though many have had great success with mid-cost products. And, while I won’t say they don’t have their fair share, the dudes running High cost equipment, tend to be mostly humble.
TL;DR: While all groups have their members of humility and humbleness, those that spend the money tend to understand what is worth it in their rifle, and what is not. They are also more likely to provide some of the most accurate advice, as with most spendy hobbies, or habits, comes utilization. There are generally two type of people who get to the “top-tier” rifles: Those who have bought into, learned, and utilized less-than equipment and can appreciate the differences when they do finally make that investment. Or, those who started that way, whether on Opportunity, Opine, or Education, and stayed there.
Neither are “wrong” just two paths to the same right. I am humbly embarrassed to admit I am on Path One. More by opportunity that opine or education at this point.
To OP’s main concern: Stickman’s comment below truly would be one of the best places to start if you’re interested in the newer/trendier stuff. Overall, it hasn’t changed that much fundamentally.