I have had meatloaf in a 5 star restaurant and it was dang fine indeed. I have recently been enjoying my wife's organic ground turkey meatloaf and it is right up there, that good. I was doing a beer app at one time and tried, far more than one each, 600 new to me beers in one year and many were awful no matter how expensive or highly praised and only a few were outstanding. I like your analogy as it makes sense, we all have different taste based on our individual lifetimes of culture, exposure, and I think just plain differences in our DNA. I have since stopped drinking alcohol, 17 months and not a drop and do not miss it. Part of that is having kidney issues and also after a lot of research finding out how beer, wine and others have some seriously unhealthy ingredients in them and not regulated or have to tell us about it. I am finding I just do not care to drink any longer and likely never will again.
Same goes for audio, makes sense, we all are a big different in our perception and taste, if one can be happy with a low budget system, great for them, if another loved to go after the best, to them, they can no matter the cost, great as well.
Rick