First of all, technologies change. What might have been "best" before is not necessarily "best" after a technological breakthrough. For example, when compact discs came along, nobody in their right minds listened to records any more if the same music were available in the new format. Yet, for many years, records were the "best" way of delivering music to consumers. (Tape would certainly have been better, but the engineering design trade-offs have to include things such as cost, size, etc.)

Second, virtually every design in engineering represents a series of trade-offs, compromises in the real world. The quality of items is not linearly ordered. One item may be better at one thing and worse at another. For example, one amplifier may be capable of lower distortion within its operating limits, and another my have higher distortion with wider operating limits. Neither one is "best." One is better at one thing, and another is better at another thing. The form follows the function.