Not that I typically defend Java, but I think that (going by your Rosetta Code algorithm comparison test) Java fairs well against a few mainstream languages:

Rosetta Code's Java Quicksort: http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Sorting_algorithms/Quicksort#Jav...

Not great, that first line is a wreck in particular, but not terrible either.

Compare that to this though: http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Sorting_algorithms/Quicksort#C.2...

Really quite ugly looking code.

Now, this isn't entirely fair; one of C++'s faults/benefits is that depending on your shop and/or framework/libraries, "idiomatic" C++ can vary greatly. Template heavy C++ tends to look like vomit. C++ that uses Boost will typically be more unpleasant to look at than C++ that uses Qt (imho anyway).

Java really comes into it's own horrible self when you get beyond mere algorithm implementation. A quicksort method in Java will tend to be relatively fine, but for projects larger than that it becomes idiomatic to make your java code a real mess.