For every anecdote like this, there's another with different/reversed brands.

Aside from some particularly bad runs (like the IBM "Deathstar" or WD Greens), no brand is much more reliable than another.

There is, however, a big difference when you get to Enterprise drives. Often SAS but not always. They are a lot more expensive, but with much higher MTBF ratings. But even within this, the brands are pretty close.