then there is the compromise of a hybrid amp. my sons Johnson amp has a tube pre-stage and s/s power amp. that sucker is LOUD. and they are not very expensive. you might also want to look into Bugera amps. I have the V5 and i barely even take the attenuator off .1 W. this is it.
This is a perfect home amp as you can dial the thing from .1 to .3 to 5. its all tube and has the vintage sound.
It has gone up in price by 75 bucks since I got mine. but still for 200 its a great deal! they are made by Beringher. which makes some great soloid states also.
as Phill says,, using some stomp boxes or a multi effects box can really make a so so amp sound pretty good. Ebay is your friend on that one. I just got my RP500 for a heck of a deal! min you will want a distortion box,compressor and a delay. you can get pretty good units of these from Rouge, or Berhinger. Berhinger even sells sets that are cool. http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Stomp-T … B004H1KB3Y or just look at the prices, you can start a pretty nice pedal bd on a budget http://www.musiciansfriend.com/effects-pedals/behringer
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/V5Infinium
and if your worried about only 5 wats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoFQvVTqWtI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHXhLCDQpIw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7tEUsvN5Oc
Cheers!



