Depends on what you like. I ride a Cannondale Supersix for sport and love it. I used to race and still enjoy training hard, so my priorities are lightness, rigidity, and handling. A carbon frame beats steel in all of those.

I think the reputation for harshness is undeserved. I rode an aluminum frame (the gold standard of harsh and rigid) for a long time and IMO the difference between frame materials is way smaller than say 23 vs 25mm tires.

That said, I also have a 70s era steel frame as my commuter. It's a fun, springy ride that is respectably quick, and I enjoy riding it to work. I would not want to do thousands of feet of climbing on it though.