I honestly have no idea about how other cameras are. I never tried a different one. It´s just that I wanted a good not too expensive cam that does the job. Of course, popularity and reputation are things I couldn´t avoid noticing.
I have an XTi. I love it. But, I honestly wouldn't say that I love it more than if I had a good Nikon Camera. To me, they both deliver top quality. Add to that, the body is very important but its the lens that is going to help get the real money shot.
I own an XT. I don't really see much of a difference between that and the XTi except the megapixel count. But the reason I chose the XT over other companies entry level Digital SLRs is the Canon glass and the low noise in the higher ISOs both of which I am sure are comprable to Nikon but not really other manufacturers as much.