So damn hard deciding which tube preamp to buy!

I agree. This is all a waste of time.

YUP! A complete system for 25k I know I could, and be very happy..

25k for just a preamp, I would stay PISSED for the rest of my life knowing I spent 25k on any single component, NO MATTER..

Including speakers..

Regards

In my experience bigger triode tubes are best- DHT preamps are on a higher level although not many available options are it there. I’ve heard the LTA preamps and they are also amazing. The other outstanding preamp I’ve heard i by Pass labs, then there is Shindo, EAR, Audio Note. Then there is ARC, and  more and more 

Here you go.
http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/einstein_the_tube.htm
The more tubes, the better.

+1 for Atma-Sphere MP-1 fully loaded. It is about $28K but about the best for vinyl. The phono stage is not merely an add on but takes up half the preamp-8 of 18 tunes (12AT7s and 6SN7s).
And be sure to roll the AT7s for NOS!