Mojo, Although I'm with you (that vinyl and tubes color the sound), a lot of people like it. I personally think that's because both vinyl and tubes compress the music (in different ways). This hides many limitations in other parts of the system.
There is also something very zen about interacting with your music ... like placing the needle for that one song you want or turning over the record (at least it got your lazy butt out of the seat). And you gotta admit that soft glow of tubes is pretty cool looking ... you can just see it warming up the sound ...
