"Avid BB7s (road or mtn) sell for <$50 at many etailers such as jenson, price point, etc. I paid $43 and 45 for the last two I bought."

Agreed, as I said. But while they are a better deal, they are not a cheap brake, just a large volume one where many good deals are available. Comparing apples to apples quality wise I think they compare to quite expensive cantis. Now on value, no question they are a lot more likely to come cheap. When it comes to complete builds it is unlikely that the same wholesale dollars are going into cantis as BB7s. And BB7s are pretty much the best brake for what they do, which I don't think anyone can say about any of the cantis sold on touring bikes for the hoi polloi.

In my case, I run BB7, Paul, or Pedersens, all of which are outstanding brakes.