Yourself, and every other photographer has to agree, that the camera is a big contributing factor to taking good pictures. Although, i believe now, more then ever, post processing is bigger.
This is exactly what i was trying to say. It seems there are a few thresholds where the skill of the photographer isn't as important as the quality of the equipment used.
For example, a picture shot with a point and shoot wont compare to a D90, which wont compare to a 5DmkII, which wont compare to a D3x, which wont compare to a Hassleblad, which wont compare to a Mamiya DM56, etc etc.
Add on top of this years of experience getting paid to photoshop stuff...
And the paintbrush or guitar or whatever argument is flawed. First, tell Da Vinci to repaint the Mona Lisa with $.50 home depot chip brushes, or tell Flea to play any of the slap bass parts with a wal-mart brand, single pickup bass.
Equipment does make a big difference in a lot of cases.