Yes, the Apogee speakers were certainly in the top tier of planars. I'd also include the old Magnaplanar Tympani 4's and the 20.1's in the category of "best".
Is Apogee in a class by itself among planars?
As a former owner of Apogee Stages, after listening to a number of popular planars, I still feel that Apogee produced an uncanny feeling of live music better than anything else IMHO all these years later. Although they weren't the most detailed, didn't have very well defined bass, and didn't have a very holistic soundstage, there was just something undefineable to me that sounded real (even when listening from the another room), along with unsurpassed vocals, that makes me say "There's something about Apogees." Am I hallucinating? If not, how was this achieved?