Well I've had a (cheap) Yamaha folk guitar since 1979. It sound a bit light but has taken a lot of hard knocks. The action is still perfect. The tone has improved over the years despite the belief that plywood tops don't mature.
I have a friend who owns an Ovation and it is one of the best sounding guitars that I have heard. She did admit, though, to trying every guitar in the shop before choosing it.
My other guitars are, a Vantage, again plywood, which has a very bright tone and suits a lot of my songs. I bought it for it's looks (Peter's Placebo) It is Bird's Eye Maple. An Ibanez that I bought from Goodwill for $28, It was brand new with a case and a strap. Has a deeper sound than the Vantage so I use it for certain (deeper?) songs. An Alvarez 12 String, which I bought because a guy at work was selling it cheaply. I don't play it much. I have another friend who has a couple of Seagulls with solid cedar tops. They both sound great.
I think that when (Note: not if) I buy another guitar I will take a good musician with me and, starting with the cheapest in the shop, do a blindfold test on each one until we both agree on the best.