Rift and even more so Tera are graphically (from a technical standpoint, one can argue about aesthetics) better than SWTOR, yes. Though every MMO is light years behind Age of Conan in terms of graphical quality. That game is four years old (correct me if I'm wrong) and blows everything else out of the water. It looks better than most single player titles, as a matter of fact.
Having said that, the style of SWTOR has grown on me a lot during the past half a year. I still think I would have probably prefered a more realistic and gritty approach (see Age of Conan) but the art of SWTOR has its appeals. It suits the game well, I suppose.