It's not true to claim that there is no solid evidence suggesting that AA is not effective. There is a lot of shitty evidence both supporting and discrediting 12 step programs, and the author of the linked article has found plenty of shitty science to wave his hand at. Look through the dates of the studies referenced - 1967, 1981, 1985, 1996. The most recent paper there is almost 20 years old, with the exception of Project MATCH (2006), which the author appears to have not read very closely.
The Project MATCH paper which the author above dismisses as "showing everyone does the same with or without AA" actually shows that "12-step treatment had more than double the number of patients who were continuously abstinent at one year after treatment and about one third more at three years after treatment." That does not strike me as being "the same". The latter interpretation of the results comes from Harvard Medical School professors, the former from some random anonymous dick on the internet.
An article on the topic from the aforementioned Harvard Medical School professors (who are addressing a particularly well known "debunker" of AA, who also coincidentally has his own method he is trying to sell) can be read here - http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2014/04/defense-12-step-addicti.... It references many recent, randomized, controlled studies that directly contradict the assertion that AA has no effect.
My own personal experience is that AA, when stripped down, is very strongly reminiscent of CBT (which I have also been on the receiving end of), mixed in with a strong social support network. I also have seen that AA in practice varies wildly from place to place, so my own experience is likely not the same one that you'd have in the Bible Belt or elsewhere.
If you're struggling, by all means check out a meeting AND talk to your doctor. If you hate AA, don't go anymore.
I tried and failed repeatedly to get sober on my own and with medical treatment for about 8 years, from 26 to 34. Since I have started going to AA, I have been sober for the longest period of time since I was legal to drink (19).
If I had read that smug, halfassed article you posted, I probably wouldn't have gone, and I probably would be either drunk or quite possibly dead, given my intake and behaviour. Addiction is no joke. If you don't know what you're talking about, keep your ignorance to yourself.