Mark, I receive many VORs at up to 200 miles as well.  But some of the ones that I really need for navigation don't come into range until it is too late to use them as intended.  

As a licensed Amateur Radio Operator (Ham), I know that VHF transmissions between the ground and aircraft at altitude can be heard for hundreds of miles, even with just a few watts of power.  So this 50 mile limit on some VORs makes no sense to me.