I held out for the longest time. I had a bad leather Brooks in the 70's. 30 miles was about the limit that I could ride pain free before my butt started to ached. After 40 it was going numb.

I got a gel saddle in the 90s that was great. I never got a sore butt, even after 100 miles. Unfortunately, it finally wore out, with a torn cover. I tried several other saddles - a Specialized Body Geometry, a Terry Fly, an old Vetta in good shape (the best of the bunch), but none of them was as good.

Finally, based on all the glowing testimonials, such as those in this thread, I decided to try a Brooks - a Champion Flyer. So far, it's great. I've gone on longer and longer rides and never gotten sore, including a century a month or so ago. The only test it has yet to pass is a long, multi-day tour. I'm going to use it on one this summer. I'll report back afterwards.