That's true. I've seen garage bands with some really expensive gear and it was like "ehhhhhhhhh"... maybe that's why I thought phenomenal tone was a thing of the past. Gotta yank it out just so, I reckon.

On the flipside, there have been some bands that came up with some interesting, bizarre sounds such as Sonic Youth, Public Image Ltd., the Swans, the Pop Group... (all examples of post-punk or no wave) and they were anything but virtuosos. Even Black Flag had some intense sounding stuff that boggled the mind. Sometimes what you lack in virtuosity you can make up with in creativity and weirdness. Observe:

Wikipedia: Sonic Youth

Paraphrasing something I once read about them: $150 dollar guitars just sound like cheap guitars... but if you tune it randomly and strike it with a screwdriver you can make it sound like church bells.