Hi fivebewet,
I think there have been more posts dealing with memory foam than with latex because it is a much more “tricky” material and there tend to be more questions about memory foam on the forum but there is much more hype and marketing surrounding it than with latex (which also has its share). I do think though that latex is one of the highest quality materials available (for many reasons including performance and durability) and my own personal preferences lean towards fast response materials (also for many reasons) and latex is generally the best of these. I sleep on a latex mattress so its certainly fair to say that from a personal preference level there is a bias yes. You can read more about some of the reasons why in this article.
It would probably also be fair to say that I have a similar “bias” towards natural fibers such as wool and silk over polyester and other synthetic fibers and fabrics.
I think my biggest “bias” of all though is towards smaller local or independent manufacturers that either sell factory direct or through better sleep shops regardless of which type of mattresses they make. While there are exceptions, they will generally have the best quality and value available.
More than any of the benefits of latex though … I believe that it’s important to use the highest quality materials available in any budget range no matter what material someone is most attracted to because my own (or anyone else’s) personal preferences have little to do with what someone else may need or prefer. Not everyone prefers or even does well with latex. All materials including latex also have lower and higher quality versions and there are some higher grades of polyfoam (such as true HR foam) that approaches latex in its performance at a lower cost.
It would probably also be fair to say that many of the long time manufacturers across the country share the same biases because they have decades of experience in what makes a good mattress material and which materials can be more “problematic” beyond the hype that is so common in the industry. Some materials are more risky to use than others and in these cases the layering of the mattress and the combination of materials and components used can be especially important. They have seen the trends and successes and failures of different materials in the longer term and they have a longer term perspective that is more fact based and more responsive to their local customers (and their children and grandchildren) over the course of decades and less about marketing. They have also watched the general deterioration of mattress quality and construction that has become the norm with the mainstream industry.
Even good quality innersprings … as much as many people downplay them in these days where specialty mattresses and materials are commanding a growing market share … have benefits that aren’t shared by other components and some of the most knowledgeable people I know that could sleep on anything they want sleep on an innerspring with latex comfort layers.
Overall … each person can have unique needs and preferences and their own body and the things that are most important to each person will tell them which type of materials and combinations best suits their needs and preferences.
I think that two of the biggest “issues” in the industry today is the widespread use of lower quality foams (usually polyfoam and memory foam) especially in the upper comfort layers that are sold for much higher prices and are far less durable than they should be. The opposing trend that is just as big an issue is the “race to the bottom” that is promoted by many opportunistic manufacturers that care mostly about a quick profit and little about quality or value or the long termm satisfaction of their customers and will say just about anything to convince consumers that the materials they use are higher quality than they really are and that price is the only thing that really matters. These are the ones for example that you will constantly see comparing their mattresses that use cheap foams to higher quality versions (especially with memory foam) when they are anything but an “apples to apples” comparison.
The better options I’m aware of in the Indianapolis area are listed in post #2 here.
Hope this helps 
Phoenix