You had a couple pieces of bad information. Extract brewers can win awards in competition and it doesn't take a ton of equipment to do all grain. Making good beer with extract is in your technique and I think it is easier to make good beer from extract than from all grain. With that said, I've been brewing all grain and don't intend to go back to extract because of the cost factor and the excitement of watching the starches turn to sugars, the fun of making up my own recipes, and to see just what I can do with the process.
I started all grain with BIAB using the equipment I already had for extract. All I had to add was a paint strainer bag and a cheap Corona style mill since the nearest brew store with a mill was 150 miles away. I brew 2 1/2 gallon batches in my 5 gallon pot or if I want a bigger batch I use a 7 1/2 gallon turkey fryer pot to make 5 gallons. With BIAB, all grain brewing is so simple anyone can do it. Measure out the water you need, bring it to a specific temperature, drop the paint strainer bag in and stir in the milled grains. Wait for the amount of time for the mash to complete, remove the bag holding the grains and you have wort made.