I swear I'm not a representative, but some of the best pans I've ever seen and that I currently own are Saladmaster pans.
Even the old, high quality stainless steel ones are practically indestructible. People I know have had them for 30-40 years and they still are in excellent shape.
The newer stuff has a titanium coating or mix along with the stainless steel, which makes them more expensive. You can get the older stuff on ebay for pretty cheap though.
A little bit of their baking soda mixture (which you can mix your own of...I'm told. I don't know, I've been using the same bottle -- of which i have two -- for 4 years now) and no matter how badly you burned it on, it will come off. Its glorious...especially if you tend to overheat your pans.
For baking dishes, I use primarily stainless steel, and several glass pans for breads and pies. Lots of butter or oil, and half a brain and even if you burn anything on, you can scrub it off. I swear they invented new coatings for the sake of planned obsolescence.