This is the list of the best makers of audio equipment. Respond if you disagree

Well in this category of legacy recievers I think the best was HH Scott.  Harmon Kardon Citation tube amps for the Wow!

Good list. No one comes close to  Nakamichi for tape decks now a days. Some of us still love our old bootlegs and Nakamichi decks may be the best we have. I don't know anything about B&O spinners but techhnics is obviously top of the food chain. The receivers you listed are quality. Not quite MR-78 but respectable in any discussion. Don't let the naysayers put you off. Stand the test of time equipment. You should feel proud to own them if you do.

I'm thinking Heathkit is better than anything listed so far...

The Harmon Kardon CD401 cassette deck was every bit as good as the Nakamichi.  They only made it for one year, but it had Dolby B/C and HX Pro noise reduction, three heads, and you could bias the deck to match the tape as it had an adjustable bias circuit.   When used with metal particle tapes and the HX Pro noise reduction it provided phenomenal recording and playback.  

Even though, back in the 80s, except for Nak. none of these brands would make my Best of list, a good many young audio enthusiasts found all of the brands listed by leemurray2007, to be an affordable solution for enjoyable listening. 
I have to agree about the Nak, cassette players. After having trouble with my Tandberg deck, eating tapes, my dealer set me up with a Nakamichi ZX9. It served me flawlessly for ten years and on metal tapes, made incredible recordings. After being boxed and put into storage for nearly 20 years, I got it out, had it cleaned and serviced for sale and it performed with no issues. After recently finding my old collection of tapes that I thought had been lost in a move, I'm kind of wishing I had it back.
Jim