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Well, I was one of those who had the expensive stuff - that is, up until 1998, and then I got tired of 'keeping up.'
However, for those who are saying the reviews are due to advertising (and by corollary, the components are not as good as they say: Bull!) I had them: the Versa. The Jadis. The Goldmund. WATT/Puppies. Genesis. Clearaudio. And they were exactly as written. You're free to criticize - IF you had them. Well, you're free to criticize anyway, but you'd be wrong. At least BACK THEN. 
These days, the reviews are far from penetrating. The magazine is good, but not the One-Ring-To-Rule-Them-All journal that it once was. There is no common vocabulary any more: writers use their own language, which makes it hard to know what they mean, since there is no longer a common audio language.
I'm disturbed to see Neil Gader attacked, though, because he's one of the few who writings I can verify when I buy a component he's reviewed. I trust that Harley and Valin are honest (I worked with JV at Fi Magazine) and I know he has a great love for music and the components that produce it, but he also has a bias: he doesn't mention symphonic works as much as he used to, and very few writers mention the music used in the course of the review (which TAS always did, until Mr. Harley came and took over). It's not that it's bad: it's just no longer great. One can read it and put it down with ease. That never used to be the case when they were as a serious as a heart attack with their critiques. Nowadays, the critiques are mealymouthed, so who knows what's responsible for that? I can say the magazine has a great deal more advertising in its pages and that's easily verified. Besides which, at one time the readership revolted because a review was interrupted by advertising appearing in the middle of a review. That started around issue 105. And, sad to say, HP was still at the helm when that happened, although he'd promised, many years earlier, when he first did that - and the readers revolted - that that would never happen again.
It's a nice read, and I've become accustomed to the prices, but you'd expect more penetrating (meaning, more serious scrutinized) reviews, given the increase in cost of the magazine, than one actually gets.
If you joined the mag since 2000, I can understand your seeing it this way. But it wasn't always like that. It used to be GREAT.

@mmporsche: Understood. It's great that you were able to find those brands on your own at shows. However many audiophiles don't attend and depend on the magazines for exposure. That's all I meant.  
I've been to the NY show 6 or 7 times, CES and Rocky Mountain and frankly, they're usually just more of what the magazines cover anyway. It's very rare that I walked into a room to find a brand I had never heard of before. That's what I was going originally. I want more exposure to new or existing brands, and the magazines, while achieving this, seem to cover the same old, same old way too often. 
Like I said before, it's like being a spice enthusiast and only reading about salt and pepper every month.
Good luck with your new purchases.

devilboy: you have some good points.  I am fortunate to live in Denver and have access to an international show like RMAF each October.  

Your comments got me thinking about my process to find gear.  I do admit that I often read about a piece of gear in TAS and then begin my independent search which includes searching the Audiogon forums for said product or class of product.  I then Google "review" of said products as another source of information.  I am often able to find a consensus of people who will say positive things about an item and more importantly describe characteristics I am looking for in something.  Just today I am searching for a "bang for the buck" rack.  I searched Audiogon and was able to find a number of brands I had never even heard of or seen advertised for that matter.  I then reviewed their websites and then found independent reviews.  I was very excited about Symposium racks until I read a few people thought it made their system sound "bright".  That is a characteristic I am trying to avoid so I moved on in my search.  The point is there is no shortage of information and opinions about most anything.  The challenge today is to determine what is truly "independent" and muddle through the vast amounts of information.  I am very pleased I found Audiogon as it has proved to be an invaluable resource for me getting back into this hobby at a much higher level than in the past.

Take care and thanks to all who contribute their experiences on Audiogon.  

"Vienna Acoustics played its top-of-the-line $33k Klimt “The Music” 3.5-way floorstander driven byChord electronics. The combo produced a dark, rich, lovely sound, with good midrange presence and top-end brilliance. A little vague in imaging, a little exaggerated in the bass, and not the last word in transient speed, “The Music” was nonetheless enjoyable to listen to."
- Jonathan Valin's(TAS) report from the CES.  

The key word here is enjoyable, and yes, almost 7 years from the first day in my home, The Music speakers are still very enjoyable indeed.

@mmporsche: If looking for a rack, check out Audio Elegance. I have a three tier, double wide rack called "the lowboy". It's beautiful, IMO. It was far cheaper than some of the other multi-thousand dollar racks I've seen but won't mention here.  However, it doesn't offer any vibration control or absorption. For that I use separate products and put them on the shelf. 
Google the company and you'll see different finish options as well.
You can see it in my virtual systems. 
Hope this helps and good luck with everything!