The poorer your install skills, the more critical it is you focus on getting the install right. The B grade installers are the ones with a better chance of getting it wrong if they dont.
We all get really excited about our brand names here (myself included... guilty) but in the end, doing a blind test, none of us could pick out which brand of subwoofer, amplifier or h/u we were listening to. But we'd know crap if we heard it, and yes you can make very good components sound crappy with a poor install.
Sure, research subs, audition as many as you can. Im not suggesting there is no ryme or reason to sub choice. But when it boils down to 2 top-notch drivers, at some point just pick which suits your needs and pocketbook best. If we could all chose no compromises with our budgets, this discussion would be quite different.