jimusic
But the only question that really matters is:
Where did Sampletank 3 rate?
Oh wait - this was a 2013 poll.
ST 3 won't be out until  - what 2022? Even though it was promised in 2013 - for sure.
 
Sorry - just couldn't resist. Just wanted to put a smile on Larry's face there . 

You have to take all "best of" polls and surveys with a grain of salt. Although there isn't anything on that list that doesn't deserve to be there, if there were truly a "best" of anything, all such polls would be in agreement. They aren't. 
 
KVR members are not typical VST consumers. They are on a first-name basis with those developers who also call KVR home, and almost never have anything bad to say about them. They do make an exception for IK Multimedia, of course. KVR members are mostly young and mostly into all-synthesizer genres. They tend to know a lot about products but little about recording technology in general. That general ignorance encourages a herd mentality in which plugin popularity shifts from month to month like the Billboard Top Ten.
 

yorolpal
I think it more accurately describes KVR users/readers than the merits of the products that "won".

Although that is true to some degree with every list of this type, regardless of where it is published, this list is not that bad.  The only obvious choice that I believe most would agree is absurd is Reaper.  many of the orther products regularly appear at the tops of other polls.  There are very few products in any category that are undisputed "best".  That rarely happens and when it does it results in virtual monopolies.  Most of these products fall into the category of preference that makes "best" so subjective that Kontakt is likely to be the sole overwhelming winner in any of these polls.

You have to admit...Bang for Buck, Reaper is butt stomper boyz...

$60 as opposed to $500 if you own your own plugins (you can buy some with the saved
$440) extremely stable, THEMES, THEMES, THEMES, and some capable, howbeit very slim on UI,
plugins (and you can write you own plugins and synths too),
it's easy to see WHY it made the top.  For those on a Budget (who isn't) it's
a no-brainer....

It's not MY Top, but I do quite understand the poll findings...

When you buy Reaper it's part of the terms that you must respond to best daw polls. Mention Reaper on KVR and you can hear rocks lifting and woodwork creaking as they crawl out.