Quite honestly, there's more benefit to be had from heavy compounds and good food than from any supplements. Take Cuba, for instance - they only train on very basic equipment, and the availability of supplements is virtually nil due to embargos. Still, when a buddy of mine returned from a recent vacation, she was astonished at the level of conditioning she saw in the gyms there. If there weren't so many over-hyped "magic beans" on the market, maybe we'd see people <gasp!> actually have to learn how to diet and train!
Indeed. Innovation is fine when it in fact improves upon existing products. Where it fails to perform is where the existing solution is already optimal. There are a few truly useful supplements:fish oil, whey and dextrose (which are really just foods), a multi, creatine, and caffeine will not steer you far wrong. A few other bits and pieces - ephedrine and perhaps yohimbine for cutting come to mind - but for the most part, these are the biggest "bang for buck" supps out there and they've all stood the test of time. (Heh - and pubmed!)
Outside of these, the sad fact is that in many cases, "new and improved" is often nothing but window dressing at best - or at worst only serves to illustrate that old chestnut: "If it ain't broke, fix it until it is!"
My .02 CDN.
