Of the four bikes I currently have, I bought three without test rides.
My commuter, I bought as NOS off an ebay vendor (so obviously didn't test ride it), but when I was in the market to buy that commuter, I test rode a bunch of bikes, and it was helpful. This bike's too big, that bike's too small, I just don't like the way this other bike handles. I already had a good idea of what I wanted, but the process clarified what I didn't want. My previous commuter, I had test-ridden, and really wasn't attentive enough on the test ride to problems that were glaring once I rode it a little more.
My old racing bike has a custom-built frame, and my distance bike has a stock frame I picked out with help from a fitter, and built up myself.