Does rank even matter?

I am in silver and have been since season 2 but I have always felt that there really isn't that much a difference for players below plat. I always play with my friends who are in gold and do better then them consistently, and in ranked games I'll see bronze players with mechanics that look like they should be in diamond. There are a lot of games where I beat a plat/gold player, but then I'll lose to bronze players as well. I honestly feel like as long as you have mechanics down the lane is determined by the champ you selected. What do you guys think? Does your rank really show how good of a player you are?