The people who complain about Starbucks are usually just doing it out of arrogance. Their coffee prices are on par with every other major coffee selling establishment (not talking about specialty drinks, which are not overpriced either), and in my opinion, the taste is much better. I am a frequent Starbucks drinker, and find coffee from McDonalds to be bland, tasteless, and undrinkable.
And yes, the atmosphere is much nicer than most places... I don't understand why that is a negative. It's like saying the food at Arby's is better than a sit down restaurant because it is cheaper and dirty.