> that we had landing orbital class boosters sorted out in 1991
SpaceX first stage boosters are not orbital class.
They reach around Mach 6 (Up to my knowledge) at top course and around Mach 3 on descend before the landing burn.
Valid criticism however would be that the DC-X was intended for a return head first with a belly flip. Not tail first like SpaceX boosters.
As such, it is much more similar to Starship spacecraft.