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The "better tractor" is both. John Deere, Kubota, Massey, LS, all make "better tractors" than the others. If they were junk they'd go out of business. There are really only two issues folk generally see out of any of the brands; bad dealers and bad choice of product for the given task.
Make sure you have a good dealer, and you'll like whatever tractor you get. A good dealer is going to ask "what are the tasks you intend on doing?" and try to match you up with the best unit for the intended tasks. You don't want a tall narrow lightweight tractor on hillsides, but you may want one for mowing flat pastures, orchards, or your yard. If you have a specific implement you want to run, you may need a particular weight of tractor, or a specific PTO horsepower rating. If you want to do earth work, you're going to need as much weight as you can get.
Decide what you want to do, then choose the machine from there. Find a good dealer, they can make all the difference.