I don't know about the best, but the Absolute Sound ("TAS"), with the exception of Anthony Cordesman, is a joke in its latest incarnation. Most of the reviews state that the component being reviewed is the very best the reviewer has heard - they write the same review over and over, changing only the name of the component. There are no measurements (Stereophile's measurements are very helpful), only subjective comment that sounds like ad copy (NO - more enthusiastic than ad copy). Lastly, Ali Baba Harry Pearson is an intolerable windbag with zero credibility -- every component he writes up is the "very best" ever heard at "Seacliff". In any event, it is mostly the readers' fault, as what TAS is doing is not subtle and anyone who would read more than three or four editions is an idiot.