MMOG's: Only for the hardcore?

I don't even like playing with people for free most of the time. The chances of me ever paying for it are slim, unless something truly groundbreaking appears.

Game Pro pimp the virtues of World of Warcraft early in this piece, but then point out that it becomes an endless trip in that most dreaded of vessels, "The Hamster Wheel of Eternal Levelling". WoW is praised for it's approach to casual gamers, but points out that come level 60, it's seemingly hardcore all the way.

Having never MMOG'ed myself, would those who have played say that WoW is where it's at right now? Or is Guild Wars really the star of the hour? And where does Galaxies fit into all this? (Galaxies being the only MMOG I've been remotely interested in.) "Why no Everquest?" I hear you cry. Too obvious. There will ALWAYS be an Everquest.