Guys, I think this is a really interesting thread, drivel and all. Love the subject title! I have been into recorded music since, oh, 1970 and into RTR since, oh, 1973 or so, and I have NEVER owned tube gear. Before buying my current electronics (ok, it is a Simaudio Moon I-7, yikes an integrated amp), I did an extended bakeoff which included tube gear (a BAT I don't remember what), and I found that for chamber music, piano, folk music, etc, the tubes provided a superior point to point continuity BUT just didn't deliver the sound fast enough to handle the hairpin dynamics of massed orchestral music - like Mahler. OTOH, one of the pieces of SS that I listened to (from a manufacturer that makes well-known tube gear as well) could handle them, but honestly - sounded like crap. Beaucoup bucks too. The I-7 was, for the money, a piece of gear that handled it all, IMHO. SS, of course.
Now, having said that, my vinyl rig pusher (the infamous Brian at The Analog Room - and I do recommend The Analog Room for vinyl gear, especially if you like Cuban cigars) claims that you really need to go upscale in tubes to get the kind of performance I'm talking about in terms of ability to handle hairpin dynamics - and I have listened to some pretty fantastic stuff in his shop from Air Tight - which I couldn't come close to affording. Maybe someday.