To be fair, most of my past “Racks” have really been baskets sitting on top of stock or aftermarket rail systems(Thule/Yakima). The closest comparison to Gobi for me, would be the Garvin Wilderness rack I had on my TJ and ZJ Jeeps. I like the fact that the Gobi has a steel mesh floor in modules that can be removed for the sunroof opening. It also fits my needs for the type of lighting(LED bar). With the exception of the Wilderness rack, the other systems with the basket sat up much higher and accessibility was reduced due to the addition hight. The Wilderness rack severed me well for years, but the craftsmanship, build quality, and finish coatings of the Gobi rack exceed both my previous baskets and the Wilderness systems. It is my opinion that visually, the Gobi rack looks to be more integrated, and has a smooth continuity from front to back. Again, this is just a few points of comparison from racks I have owned. I know there are many quality units on the market.
I was also looking at the Frontrunner, it has a lot of flexibility as well. What sealed the deal for me, was that Gobi is a local Colorado company. I was able to visit them and was even put in contact with a previous customer with a installed rack, the guy was nice enough to meet me and I was able to experience the system first hand. It was very reassuring knowing what to expect right down to the wind noise(very little BTW).