Here is an article by Peter Cohen that you might find interesting. Now I do agree that Apple's routers are not the best, fastest or cheapest by any means, but when it comes to setting them up, they are bar none some of the easiest to work with. Especially if you have an all Apple environment you will be working with. I have 2 Airport Extreme Base stations and 1 Airport Express in my home. I use one AEB for my main router and the other AEB & AE for extending my network. They were simple to set up and I have never had an issue with them or my network functioning.
Like I said, there are better and cheaper routers out there than Apple's. But when it comes to setting them up and having them work without issues, I would go with Apple's routers first eveery time.
The Netgear Nighthawk AC3200. It's Tri-band and 6 external antennas. Its around $280. As far as I've seen its the top tier of routers. I'm personally not impressed by Apples airport routers, and if you look at the reviews for them you seem some that are not very favorable.