Bards are better than Clerics/Druids/Shaman in melee combat.
Bards are better than Paladins/Rangers in spell combat.

If you have any doubt of the above statements, duel one using just combat or
spells where appropriate.

Many (most) of the Bard songs improve the entire group. A solo Bard is like
fighting with one arm tied behind your back. Comparing Bards to any other
class in solo capabilities is not a fair comparison of the overall
powerfulness of a class.

Bard songs will never be as magically powerful as other casters (pure and
priest types). But Bards have a huge advantage of never needed mana (lvl 43
song excepted). It is not a fair to compare the effectiveness of a bard
song which can be repeated as much as needed to a spell which comsumes mana.

The above statements are facts and cannot be disputed. Every Bard should
understand these facts. If you base your discussion on something to the
contrary, your whole logic chain falls apart.

Wayne