SJX426 

I have a very limited exposure to a wide variety of bikes so I can only comment on my experience.
I was an active rider from grade school through college. Not a racer by any means but rode a lot. My main ride back then was a UO-8. I have posted a pic of me on it in the country, you may have seen it.
When I returned to riding in 2007, a 1972 Motobecane Le Champion was my ride. There were things I didn't care for, Learning to shift again was a bit of a challenge, braking was not great. It was fast and enjoyable. It had a corncob block and I lived on a hill whose road was short but about 42* incline. Even the newspaper boy approach was really hard.
I bought the year end closeout RockHopper. Much better. Got all confused with the twist shifter. I though you were suppose to pull back not twist forward! Still get confused.
The 83 Colnago was a significant step up overall. Still basically the same tech. Same with the Treks and Bottecchia.
The Piinarello was a step into index shifting with down tubes. Improvement in shifting. Bike fit better but not a tech improvement thing. I was really curios about Campagnolo Ertgos.
Today the favorite ride is the 88 De Rosa with 10speed Record everywhere. Wow. It is a great pleasure to ride. Shifts and stops NOW. shifting is intuitive with the direction the chain needs to go, out for upshifts in for down shifts, both sides. Riding the hoods is huge improvement too. The older non aero levers are tough on the hands for hood riding.

Oh and I don't need 10 speeds. 8-9 would work well. The one bike with 10 brackets the 8 speed. I don't need the higher gear but the lower is nice.