Raise your glasses to 2011 ladies and gentlemen, and here is to another 100 years debating the 1911....That Being said..
Here is my personal un-biased opinion..Stay well away from Kimber, Para-ordinance,colt, Rock Island, Sig, Taurus, Llama,remington rand,Les Baer, Norinco, AMT, or Singer sewing machine 1911s. Unless you can afford them ,they work well, and they suit your intended purpose. If thats the case any one of the afformentioned Models should serve you well.
I will share a short story, 5 years ago, I came across a good deal, a friend of mine wanted to sell me a Llama IX-D, and an AMT hardballer for 400 bucks.The Llama was almost brand new, and the hardballer was pretty well used but still looked nice, I figured I could turn them around for a profit. The Llama fit and finish was a lot better than I had heard, its a nice looking pistol, so was the hardballer. And at the range, both of them lived up to my expectations, both sucked. And to top it off the hardballers safety would fail now and again. The hardballer I got rid of for the price I paid for both guns very quickly (yes I told the new owner about the safety, he's an educated gunsmith and figured he could fix it)..and it seemed I was stuck with the Llama for the time being. I would take it to the range with me and fire a couple mags just cause I like things that go bang..and lo and behold...she started shooting more and more often...after about round 300, I quit having malfunctions of any sort. The only thing I didnt like is that it had no beavertail and the hammer spur would give me a blister, easily cured with a bobbed commander hammer. I still have that pistol, and actually, despite my owning an XD and a few other "great" guns, that Llama is the one that sits in my nightstand...I trust it..its a great gun. The Moral of the story I suppose is..Kimbers are great, Kimbers suck, Colts are great, colts suck, RI is great, RI Sucks...
With the awesome advent of the internet we have both the boon and the curse of getting to hear everyones opinion about everything..Does my story mean that ALL Llamas are great..Hell no...Does it mean ALL AMTs are horrible..probably not..same goes for every brand..so to answer the OP...Yes, there are A LOT of bad 1911s out there..not of any one particular make or model...And some good ones will take you by surprise..The way I see it...the More you pay, The better the CHANCE of getting a great one. But it doesnt guarantee it.
So, find what you like...Buy it...see how it works, when you get one that pleases you ergonomically, functionally, aesthetically, and monetarily..Good Job, you found yourself a GREAT 1911...just stay away from the bad ones....
Duncan