Sheesh. AFAIC, people saying pickups don't matter with high gain amps is crazy. YMMV. I've installed tons of pickups for customers over the decades and the usual response after installing them is along the lines of "Wow, I never thought my guitar could sound this good!". Night and day. Amen.
Sure, a lot of sound can be manipulated when recording, but that's not a cure all. I'd much rather record my guitars with killer pickups in them. When recording, my '87 Kramer with the Suhr Aldrich sounds amazing whereas it was kinda meh before installing it. Night and day. Amen.