In the days of FM, you needed a good antenna. Absolutely. It would make an average tuner perfectly serviceable.
On the other hand, if you lived near a powerful station transmitting on a wavelength close to a more distant weaker station, or lived in the middle of NYC with all its high rises, or needed to listen to a distant station, the tuner itself was an important consideration. Unless you had one of those requirements, by the late '70s, any mid-level tuner was as good as you'd likely need. In those circumstances, you read Len Feldman's tuner reviews.
But, generally, the cheaper option for the vast majority of suburban listeners back then was to install an outdoor yagi. I bought mine from Radio Shack. Totally worthwhile.
I'm reminded of some tuner reviews by David Rich and Richard Modafferi (designer of the McIntosh MR78) in the
Audio Critic. One of the best tuners was a car audio unit from Blau (I believe it was). But who wants a car radio in their system? On the other hand, a super expensive (but lovely) Accuphase came misaligned, out of the box.
FM tuners and open reel--two audio components I'll never miss.