I went in a bike shop a few years ago and asked an employee if they had any high-end mountain bikes without suspension. He looked over at me and said “Why would you want to do that”. He thought I was ignorant… the feeling was mutual.
My favorite ride is my 1991 Steel Stupmpjumper with top mount shifting, cantilevers, 21 speeds and of course a nice steel rigid fork. This was (in my archaic mind) the pinnacle of mountain bike innovation before they started mounting guns (rapid fires) putting on motorcycle parts (disc brakes), and adding more gears than a Rolex watch… oh yea… and started making bikes out of Coke cans.