[asdrew]

First, thanks @rustythorn for putting "best" in quotes, I get annoyed when internet people ask for the "best" tires, etc. It's all relative.
Second, on the tool brand discussion. I used to do a fair bit of contracting and so accumulated quite a few decent tools.
The thing is that if you watch the changes over the years you will notice that so many brands get cheaper and cheaper over the years. Remember when Skill and Black and Decker were metal and fairly well built? My first cordless drill was a Ryobi 12v and it was expensive and quite solid. A year later my Dad proudly said he bought a Ryobi "like mine" for 1/3 the price and it felt like a toy to me.

What drives this cycle is that we consumers want $cheaper tools and so the companies cheapen them to accommodate us.

And to @surly Bill yes, even the $cheaper Harbor Freight stuff is adequate for occasional use. #ymmv
Last year I had to replace my 35 yr old DiVilbiss brad nailer with a cheapo Harbor Freight one and it is fine for my now occasional light use, in fact I will be using it today.