Commonly mentioned speaker brands?

I gotta say that almost every brand mentioned in the posts on this site are of definite quality. Yeah, the musical tastes on this site do tend toward classic 60's - 70's era rock but that's okay. Long story short -- if you can't make your way to an actual speaker audition and must mail order, the recommendations here are a pretty good place to start. Find your price range. Phone or somehow get hold of a dealer. Let the process begin.

people who have the kind of taste that frequent a site like this, or are they generally recognized as superior brands?

Yes and yes.

Not sure of the exact brands.

The greatest performers in my experience are:

Sonus Faber

Magico (you better have really good electronics… or you are going to hear their faults.

Wilson

Yeah, these are exceptional performing speakers.

Also,

Honorable Mention:

Focal

B&W are a bit like MAC electronics… you like mostly rock, they sound great… if you have a much larger pallet… look elsewhere.

Depending on your exposure there a few others folks will mention.

They are the favorites of certain people, for sure. Every speaker has strengths and weaknesses, plus the ol' beauty is in the eye of the beholder thing. 

This site definitely has some esoteric  biases. I would not rely exclusively on what products get the most buzz here at the time. Stick with products that have long successful histories and lots of people all over who like them.