Friends of ours have the same issues (as Doug), down to the fact that it was water/soap accumulating under their dish-soap bottle. They've since started putting the soap bottle on top of a small plate, but they're still left with the original stain. I'll definitely forward them the link.

I think the only time I'd put granite on a counter top would be if it were included with the house and I had the option of black and honed texture. If I were to ever replace our laminate counter I'd probably go with soap stone (non-porous, doesn't need to be sealed).