Close examination shows them as roughly equal in quality.  Colt's is a little more "glossy" on the barrel, the BM a lot more of a dark matte-grey.  Price is RADICALLY different: Colt goes for as high as $900, BM in the neighborhood of $500-600, + $50 for the Colt M4 handguards if you want to go that route.

Any input on this is appreciated!

This question sounds almost silly, go Bushmaster for sure. The price difference between the two just ain't worth it.

And to be honest with you, I prefer Bushmaster myself anyway. Just my humble opinion.

That's what I figured.  I was just looking for some compelling reason why I should spend that kind of money on a Colt...hoping I wouldn't find one.

Only if you are a collector of "Colt" does it really matter.  IMO  I go out of my way to purchase Bushmaster instead of Colt.  I hope this helps.

At this time I will only buy Bushmaster.
Colt and Bushmaster buy there parts from the some people they make very lil. on there own now.
So you get the same thing.

From time to time this is not the case, then you need to look at who there getting thee parts from and why and pick the better one.
Most of the time you will find thee the same you just pay for the name.
One way to tell who will cost more right off is who has the mil. contarct that day.
Bushmaster mas had it only one time buy thats more about price, the gov. will buy from the low bider.

Colt or Bushmaster you will have an AR you can shoot and have a good time with for a very long time so it's not a real big deal as long as you know NOT to buy any other AR's than:Colt,Bushmaster and Rock River Arms.