"Truly memorable" or godshots are moving targets. Almost by definition, they are shots which are extraordinary, much better than the norm. I know for certain that all my non-sink shots are "godshots" to people who like espresso, but have not experienced any good cafes; and I suppose if I were to go back to the standards I had 10 years ago, they would seem that way to me.
New machine technology is about raising the bar on normal run of the mill shots, not about producing nothing but godshots. The wine world has a good analogy, the Parkerization of cheap wines. Twenty years ago most cheap wines were thin, scratchily tannic, and somewhat sour. Parker became famous for insisting on unctuous "jammy" wines, and wines that fit his taste proved very popular, hugely raising the number of people drinking. Technology caught up, and now just about anyone can make a "Parker style" fruitbomb from just about anything that even looks like a grape; and so heavy bodied, jammy table wines are the norm. Aficionados of very expensive wines complain that his influence has altered the top end for the worse, since they are also influenced by this style (it's a bit like trying to make every Central taste like a Sulawesi), but it's certainly raised the standard of cheap wines. Indirectly, it has also raised the bar on expensive wines; and places like Bordeaux can no longer get away with saying if you don't appreciate their off-year "cabbage-bombs," there's something wrong with your taste.
It would be nice if every chain cafe could produce an unctuous chocolate-caramel shot because the equipment is so good. It would mean the best cafes would need to use the same machines in combination with better technique and blends to produce something even better and occasionally extraordinary.
