The question ignores that it is a dance between amplifier & speakers & really all other components in the chain. he analogy created is who is the best dancer of all time in & of themselves & in combination with all dance partners. Fred Astaire as extraordinary & flexible as he was is an entirely different dancer to Gene Kelly or female ones like Syd Charisse, countless ballet dancers or the more modern Bob Fosse. It's like picking the most important ingredient in a complex curry, not understanding the interaction between them all is critical.
I see you later modified the question to no longer look for something that
"everyone can agree on as a contemporary standard" and/or
"One Amp To ‘Rule’ Them All...."
To merely "competent". I'm not at all\clear why you should settle for only that or why "everybody's opinion greatly matters in the first place. Thee is a definitive answer here however that will give you a genuine slice of the superlative at a reasonable price & definitely available to you. The issue completely becomes consulting the person who can & will give you this answer. Yourself. You're going to have to figure out what's most important to you aesthetically concerning music & recognize it when you hear it. If this is an end run to to get others to decide for you then you'll never be especially happy in audio or life. You will find what you want in direct proportion to the work you're prepare to put into it. Something much more extraordinary for the money if you explore preowned options as well. Local ones where you can hear it especially. It all comes down to how much you want your question answered.
I see you later modified the question to no longer look for something that
"everyone can agree on as a contemporary standard" and/or
"One Amp To ‘Rule’ Them All...."
To merely "competent". I'm not at all\clear why you should settle for only that or why "everybody's opinion greatly matters in the first place. Thee is a definitive answer here however that will give you a genuine slice of the superlative at a reasonable price & definitely available to you. The issue completely becomes consulting the person who can & will give you this answer. Yourself. You're going to have to figure out what's most important to you aesthetically concerning music & recognize it when you hear it. If this is an end run to to get others to decide for you then you'll never be especially happy in audio or life. You will find what you want in direct proportion to the work you're prepare to put into it. Something much more extraordinary for the money if you explore preowned options as well. Local ones where you can hear it especially. It all comes down to how much you want your question answered.