Shimano to Campy?

Would people say that Campy is better than Shimano when comparing the lower end and mid-priced groupos as well as the top end? Campy Record (Nuovo Record, Super Record) was always considered tops, but their mid-line stuff was not that great and seldom used (on US market bikes) in the 70s. In the 80s it became more popular but had some problems. BTW, in the 70s Shimano only made parts found on department store bikes. Shimano made tremendous advances in quality and market share in a very short time.