Then narrow them down by use. What are you typically shooting images of?
For me, I love wide. I have a 10-22 and its just too fun, but it's definitely not a walkabout lens as it has very little reach. With today's image sensors, I figure it's best to have wide and crop down to pull something in closer if you need to.
The reason I prefer wide is that I am very often shooting outdoors, usually along the trail. My lens needs to be built well, dust proof, and wide enough to capture the scene. the 24mm end of the 24-70 is close to being wide enough, but on my less-than-full-size sensor (currently Canon 20D, and hopefully 7D soon), that 24mm equates to 35mm (or thereabouts) and it's just not wide enough for me.
These two images are typical compositions for the sorts of things I tend to shoot. It was shot at 16mm:
So for me, wider is better. Many other people, like Pat Boonish, seem to really love their zoom's. It's just about what sort of scene you like to capture.