[Shaun @ Tru6]

Will a better bike make me faster? Will a better car make me a better driver?

To some degree, yes. But few need the best, and even the best is often times subjective.

IMHO, no one looking for advice on pans needs anything better than All-Clad. Quality is indisputable, it's workhorse cookware and treated properly and with respect, will allow you to make anything, and as good as any cookware deemed "better." Of coarse only cast iron should be used for rib eyes, strips and even porterhouses. Filets, otherwise knows as sauce delivery vehicles, stainless is fine. Seasoned carbon steel in which you can reliably make crepes is the best IMHO. But stainless with copper and aluminum is fine for every day and more.

I've recently found that the cooktop is more important than the pans put on it. Recently having bought a 5 year old range that sells for $14K today allows me keep a beurre blanc on the stove top all day long without breaking if I want to. Yes, a proper sauce pan is important but the flame, and control of the flame, under it even more so. That goes goes for everything from delicate sauces to delicate fishes and deglazing the pan for a sauce. The flame, and your control of the heat, is everything. How the pan reacts to your inputs is, almost, secondary.

You can't go wrong with All-Clad for everything from Dover sole with a taragon duxelles to basic seared salmon with a crispy skin and everything in between.