Gibsons being a good case in point. I've only had two.

the one I lusted afterwwas the Les paul Anniversary model. Round about 1980 - but I had to settle for a model called the Paul. People used to love the sound - played through a Peavey Deuce. But compared to a proper Les paul, it was ugly little bastard - swapped it for an Ibanez which offered a cleaner sound - and much more powerful.

After that they came out with the Gibson Chet Atkins - which was the first acoustic you didn't need something the size of a washing machine to finger pick and and beat the background chatter in a pub.
Unfortunately I got the first one that came out - a nylon string thing. Nylon strings ain't my thing. Cost £675 from a shop in St martins lane. As I was gigging   maybe four times a week - earning when i was lucky forty quid a throw, it meant sacrifice. It meant looking exhaustively for the best deal - through the back pages of Melody Maker in those pre-net days.

Later of course the Chet Atkins came to prominenece with the Knopfler solo in Private Investigations.