I have a Martin that, when I first bought it, used, in 1968 or so, sounded, well, okay, but nothing great. More than decent, but not a killer. So, when I happened across a 1932 0-18 that sounded really, really nice, I sold it to a friend. He went to NY, forgot to take it from his car, so a friendly local did it for him.
Years later, in 1989, I came across a nice D-28 being sold by a musician friend of mine, that had a non-Martin top. He told about a bashed-in top and a replacement done by a NYC luthier (no name remembered). Well, it was the shit! responsive, sweet, dynamic, really great, and, since it had a non-Martin top, only cost me $500 (for a 1964 D-28!).
When I looked at the serial number, it was the same guitar! It had to be rebuilt to match me, it seemed, but now it's wonderful.
But it's not my main guitar. In fact, none of my 20-or-so "keeper" guitars are my main one. I tend to play what's at hand, or what attracts me at the time. Some are Martins, some are other makers. I have a great Harmony Sovereign (circa 1965), a couple of classicals, two 12-strings, etc.
So the make is less important than the match to the player. I played a wonderful smaller guitar, a Yamaha, at Chuck Levins' store this Saturday. If I needed a smaller guitar, or could afford to tie up money in one, I'd have bought it (they're blowing them out for $350 -- DC folkies should look 'em up). I usually play a Running Dog, a sycamore guitar (with a maple guitar's snap plus a rosewood's mellowness), 'cause that suits me.
My musical sidekick, Pete Kraemer, typically plays a Gibson L-00, a very different acoustic guitar (closer to my Sovereign -- mahogany sides and back, a drier sound). My good archtop is a spruce/maple Epiphone, with its own sound.
I've played a few Collings, Taylors, Guilds, Bourgeois, Gibson, Takamine, you name it. The sound that appeals to me is a non-dreadnought Martin (despite my D-28) , with a mahogany back and sides (the sycamore jumbo Running Dog has a sort-of-mahogany sound, in a way). Anyway, I don't like the rosewood sound as much as some others.
Martins are not the ne plus ultra of guitars, but as a whole line, their quality beats most other factories. Once you reach a particular level of price/quality, it almost doesn't matter; choose what really fits you (both sound and size -- don't get a dreadnought unless you like that big lump of wood in your lap). If your ideal is Robert Johnson's blues, a D-28 or clone won't cut it. If you want to hang with Django, get a Selmer clone with that dry punch and little sustain. If you want an all-round guitar, don't expect to find something that is perfect for every kind of sound, 'cause you won't find it.
But whatever you find to play, be ready to accept that someone, somewhere, won't like your guitar, either the tone, model, size, color, type of strings, number of strings, tuners, finish, country of origin, price, or maker.
Tough shit! Play what you like/afford/find and, as Big Mick taught us, "Ready -- two, three, four -- BITE ME!