Oh my, yes. I bought my first pair of premium denim (boot-cut 7's) the summer before I went to university, and have never looked back. I felt SO fab on my first day of classes in them, and I'm afraid I've become a bit of a premium denim obsessee. My favourite brands are 7FAM, COH and Earnest Sewn, but I've also had success with Habitual, PD&C, Paige and James.
The fit, quality of the denim and beauty of the washes you find in premium denim is really hard to find elsewhere. I'm not saying it can't be done, but to have all those factors right- well, you get what you pay for. Also, because of the quality of the denim, premium denim lasts much longer without thinning, tearing or fading.
Yes, it does make me slightly ill to think of how much money I've spent on jeans in the last 8 years or so. But then again, I wear jeans pretty much exclusively and rarely spend a lot of money on anything else for my wardrobe.
Also, like Maya says, there are deals to be found, and I've found lots of things on sale in the past. If I were you, I'd go to a dept. store or denim boutique and try a range of brands and styles on. Once you've found one that works for you, it might be worth seeing if you can find the same jean for cheaper online. I've done that before and had success.
