Mr Sparky 1,
Having owned or cooked on about every type of grill or smoker out there, I do prefer charcoal or wood cooking or smoking over all other fuels for my outside or BBQ type of cooking or smoking. It just tastes better. However, I do think many other cookers can come close to that great charcoal or wood taste with a sharp cook or pitmaster. As for comparing a pellet cooker to something like a WSM, in my opinion, it's a no-brainer as the WSM or even a Weber kettle can produce food that is better tasting than any pellet cooker with any optional device to produce more smoke. And I do own two great and one lousy pellet cooker and have cooked on one of them for over 12 years. I sure like them for convenience and Winter cooking and smoking but for real taste, I will always roll one of my charcoal or wood cookers out to my cooking patio for some fine flavored product.
Dave