What gives? CD’s, Solid State?

Give the system a chance to break in and make sure speakers are set up optimally, etc. first before passing any final judgements.

At that point if it is tube sound you still crave, then by all means go for tube amplification. If you can get by on just vinyl and forego all the good things that are available with modern digital playback systems, then do that to.

My recommendation is to be patient for now, get things broken and tuned in properly, give your ears a chance to adapt also perhaps and see what you really have first. A tube DAC with the CD player is another good option that might take you towards your tube sound nirvana without wholesale changes perhaps.

" I'm beginning to think that it will take thousands of dollars for a DAC to get anywhere near the tonal accuracy and smoothness of vinyl,"

For a "hard" sounding SS based system, try a mhdt Paradisea tube DAC for under $500 used. That got me very close. If your system has some tube-like smoothness to start with, then try the mhdt Constantine SS DAC for even less. Though there are still differences in inherent sound between digital and vinyl sources, I've had no qualms with my digital relative to phono in either of my systems since obtaining these. Other than surface noise and other vinyl moise artifacts on some records, I am hard pressed to hear a significant difference between my digital and vinyl in most cases these days.

"I'm starting to believe that first impressions about audio equipment are quite close to the final opinion."

I think that's debatable at best. Peoples impressions change over time with familiarity and so does the sound of new equipment.