It's vastly overblown on the internet. Sure, you can find a flaw on most guitars if you look hard enough, but finish flaws are to be expected when using nitro. It's really hard to work with and not very forgiving. However, the purists demand that they use it. As for most other "flaws" that I see people talk about, the vast majority are really preferences and not actual problems. I have a Traditional Pro Les Paul that I absolutely love but I had the nut replaced. I took it to a pro tech (seriously, the guy is local but does amazing work for names you would recognize) and his first nut had the exact same issue that I didn't like with the factory nut. So, I had him replace it again and change the spacing. The original Gibson nut was done well, no snagging or pinching, I just didn't like the spacing.
There will be more inconsistency at the lower price points, they use the best wood for the higher priced models and the rest is used on the lower end models. The "bad" ones are usually still well made, they are just more likely to be missing something in terms of tone or feel. I'm a big believer in playing whatever you buy but I have been surprised by the Gibsons that I decided to buy blindly. They have been excellent guitars. A guitar that you love to play is going to get the most use. You will build your tones around it and you will be more creative with it.
There is your answer.
