Anybody who rides a bike gets two thumbs up and a friendly nod from me. Bike shopping is kind of like car shopping. There are people who want to buy a performance car and then ride it on city streets in traffic at 35 mph. I love my bottom of the line Honda Civic which is reliable and inexpensive although it is a dog. We all want different things from our bikes. Personally, hybrids aren't for me, although I keep saying I should either ride my hybrid or sell it. I much prefer a road bike.
Lots and lots of people bike to work. What do they ride? Mostly hybrids, followed by mountain bikes and some road bikes. Clearly hybrids are VERY popular.
My only caveat when giving people advice on bike purchases is that there are a fair number of posts where people start out with a hybrid and six months later decide they want a road bike. I like to ask people to think about a road bike.
Different strokes for different folks!