The reviewer's role--comparative reviews?

The point has been repeatedly made on this site that we all have ears with which to listen, and in our ears we (should) trust. So what is the point of reviews in audio magazines and on-line sites? What is the role of reviewers? What could be the role of reviewers?

I'd like to suggest that comparative reviews would, in general, be much more useful to us that the single-piece reviews that are usually the rule these days. For instance, the recent AD review of the Harbeth 40.1s in Stereophile was enhanced for me by the ensuing exchanges between JA and Alan Shaw, but how much more useful the original review would have been if AD had pitted the 40.1s against their closest conceptual rival, the Spendor SP100Rs.

How many of the rapidly declining number of b&m audio stores in the US actually carry *both* Harbeth and Spendor? Come to that, in how many cities across the US could one find two stores that, between them, carry both lines?

Reviewers have time (months and months of lead-time) and at least some clout that would enable them to get obvious pairings into their listening rooms, but how often do they do that? I suspect, of course, that manufacturers are less than keen, for who wants to see their product ranked second in a head-to-head comparison? Especially if it costs $3000+ more than the other one...

Thoughts?