IMO, leaving meat out for 30 min or whatever depends greatly on the thickness of the steak and how hot you intend to cook it. I put the spurs to it via cast-iron skillet (handed down from my Grandma to my Mom to me). If the steak isn't thick enough and the pan isn't quite hot enough the steak will either be overcooked or won't have a nice crust.
Myth: Browning meat 'seals in the juices'. Bull**** it does no such thing, but browned meat tastes better.
Myth: Turning meat (steak/burgers) frequently is bad, you should only flip it once. Bull****, it actually cooks faster and more evenly when flipped frequently.
IMO, using high-smoke-point oil for steaks is better because the pan needs to be REALLY hot. Save the steak butter for after it's done.
FWIW, that perfect steaks article posted earlier says letting steaks sit out, salted, for between 0-40 minutes is the worst...it should be either longer or not at all. But I think there is a major flaw of that article and it is imo, a BIG key to getting a great sear/crust: the meat must be dry...totally dry when put into the pan. They were saying the extra water (pulled out with the salt) takes time to evaporate. NO, you must dry the meat with paper towels thoroughly before going into the pan.
From this past weekend:
