Aeropress cannot really do an espresso at a full 7,8 or 9 bar. It’s more like a pour over.

I'm guessing the Flair can't either. That "pressure gauge" is hilarious.

You'd be wrong. The 'espresso' window is 6-9 bar of pressure. It's not very hard to build that much pressure, really. I have a pump based manual hand espresso brewer (the Picopresso) and it hits that pressure just fine from an even simpler mechanism.

The Flair can definitely hit espresso pressure; I get excellent crema from it. As I said above, the biggest limit is high-altitude temperature regulation. Water boils at espresso temperature at ~ 2000' elevation, so if you're above that you cannot control the water temperature. With a pressurized machine, you can go as hot as you want.

What about the OXO press thing ?

Aeropress is accelerated drip coffee. It's not espresso by any means.

I hve either never had a good espresso or genuinely can't tell the difference between that as americano and an aeropress/v60. Probably best for me not to spend any more on these machines with my unrefined palette

Honestly, I'd not be that hard on myself, and making bad espresso is easy in comparison to making a good one, but you don't need to go influencer levels of sophisticated spectacle to get good espresso either.

A good espresso/americano has more bite in taste than a good Aeropress/V60/drip. I personally love smoother profiles (less acidity, less bite, etc.), so darker roasts and espresso on the bitter side is not my kind of thing, but preferences differ. OTOH, I can make myself a cup of instant coffee if I feel lazy.

Again, there's no need to punch yourself like that. Try, experiment and build your taste profile. These kinds of hobbies needs some kind of experience to refine what you like and what you don't.

Most importantly, don't let anyone's taste dictate yours and vice versa. I never get upset just because how someone I know prefers their coffee way different than mine, but they insist that I shouldn't drink that coffee, because that doesn't fit their taste preferences.

There's no wrong, but only things you like. You can't fail at this, because there's no way to do so.