I think it all depends on what interest you and you want to build. Sure enough, if you are into japanese aircraft, or modern stuff such as F-14, F-15 and the like, Tamiya, Hasegawa and Fujimi are going to be what you want to buy, 95% of the time. Good kits (most of the time), that can easily been build 'out of the box'. However, if you are interested in, say, pre WWII French air force stuff, well, forget those brands... It will mean short run companies, possibly resin kits, often requiring lots of extra work to get a nice looking model.
Building a kit 'out of the box' is fine. I do it time to time, to change pace, but I also take much more pleasure in working on a poorer offering, bringing it up to Tamiya stadards (and above) with plastic card, plastic rod, foil, metal wire, and whatever else I can lay my hands on.