Well, good tattoos are also worth it. I don't think most top-tier artists decide on their pricing as some sort of ego-stroke, but rather they have worked hard and deserve it. You ever get a raise at work? I've worked in bike shops for the last 6 or so years, and as my skills have gotten better and better I have (generally) been compensated appropriately (the bike industry is still incredibly undervalued in the US, but this is neither the time nor the place for me to go off on that tangent). As you then become in higher demand, you can raise your prices to adapt - it's fairly simple economics.
All that being said, an expensive tattoo is not good because it is expensive. And as has been mentioned on here before, a lot of the artists whose work we admire is not as prohibitively expensive as you might guess. If it's really worth it to you, save your pennies a little longer and go with who you think will execute the tattoo the way you want it. Everyone gets the tattoo they deserve...
/rant.