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Sure, just ignore the technical reasons why tubes are better for some applications. From IEEE: http://spectrum.ieee.org/images/archive/images/tubet1.gif

(source: http://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/audiovideo/the...)

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I find sound creation to be quite interesting, compared to sound reproduction. In a way buying an amplifier is easy. You plug in your guitar and try to find sounds that you like, that fit your vision of what your music sounds or are just plain cool. Just bought a tube amp. Second hand, they are not expensive. There are so many amateur musicians who don't just have the time to use their gear so much that it would start wearing a lot. New features are rare. So 20 year old equipment is often perfectly usable.

Buying guitar amplifiers is hard. Because, anything that sounds different from what you currently use day-in and day-out initially sounds very cool. Then spend a week with it, and you gradually start hearing into it stuff you dislike. Finally, you hate it all together. :)

This is part of the reason for the conservatism. The problem is avoided when people stick to circuit topologies and components from 1940-1960. (Plus extra gain stages for metal: that's what "modern" means).

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