Why is solid state more popular when tubes are better?

Happy with my "solid state" pure class A Sugden. As Herb Reichert put it, "Trust me folks, class-D is like fake cocaine compared to the rolling, relaxed, shroom-like beauty of the Sugden A21 SE’s midrange."

Tubes are not universally “better”, it depends on the execution and user preference.

I am always curious about tube gear, especially integrated amps.  But the repeated expense of tube replacement and maintenance turns me away.  I recently bought a McIntosh MA352 hybrid integrated amp (200 watts).  Since I was under the impression that the preamp stage was more dominant in determining SQ, I thought it was a reasonable compromise.  In another room I have a Pathos hybrid amp (about 80 watts).  Am I hearing "tubey" sound from these devices?  I don't know because i have never developed an ear for pure tube equipment. And at my age, I don't think I could discern a difference.   But dissing hybrid amps as really solid state is a cheap shot. In my other room I have a Hegel 590 SS integrated amp.  I'm totally happy with my complete setups.  

I’ve been listening to tube’s exclusively for a couple of decades now. Until recently… Built my own 30w class a amp, paired it with a tube front end (I know, can’t let go of those tubes…) 

This SS amp has changed my opinions about gear. This amp, paired with a vintage Marantz 7T (which I fully recapped) sounds much better than I thought it would. Was never interested in SS, especially vintage SS, but my opinions are changing.

Built a single ended EL84 amp, and am about to build a single ended EL34 and a tube pre to go with it. 
 

Ive stopped thinking about wether SS or tubes are better, they are just different and I like different things about both. I’m fortunate to be able to switch out between different amps, SS and Tube, push pull, single ended tube and SS as well as class and and class ab amps, tube and SS preamps and different types of speakers - horns, electrostatics, sealed, ported, horn loaded single drivers etc. DIY has its benefits…

Its all about learning for me. 
 

I tend to find absolute statements such as the OP’s to be counter productive, and not particularly open minded.

Hello emergingsoul.  Tubes are not "better." Tubes are "different." Tube "sound" is often mentioned in discussions, so we know it's real, not imaginary. Tube amp power is rated at 10% distortion, SS amps are rated at 1%, so we are not rating them in the same way, so discussions of power are misleading. SS amps can also run to 10%, but who wants to hear distortion?  Any amp distorts if it is pushed too hard. The very first SS amps sounded bad back in the '60s, but they got better. Class D amp sounded bad, but 20 years on, they got better. I think we all know that heat is the enemy of electronics. Tubes have to be hot to work - an unavoidable fact. (There are some cool tunning tubes that are small signal devices used in special applications, not powering loudspeakers.)  Tubes eventually wear out and have to be replaced. The heat tends to cause parts to fail earlier than if they ran cooler. The voltage levels used in tube amps are often way over 100 volts, much higher that voltage levels used in most SS amps and so the parts used in tube amps are more costly and sometimes fail spectacularly. Have you priced tubes lately?

SS amps are more energy efficient (especially class D), run cooler (class A amps alwys run warm - they can keep your dinner warm) and - these days in particular - are less expensive. I have and use a lovely glass bottle amp as well a Class A, AB, and D solid state amps. Listen to all sorts of amps on the best speakers (even if you can't afford them - you can't hear the differences on poor speakers)  and buy what soounds best to you. No two people hear the same thing. Everybodiy's ears are different, just like noses, eyes, and other body parts. The most transparent amp I have puts out 9 watts and has tubes. But it costs $3000 these days. I have a wonderful sounding amp, 4 channels, over 100 wpc that costs $1000. I have six of them and will soon add a seventh. I like them. I have five systems in the house!  Two of them are multi-channel surround sound rigs. I couldn't possibly afford to do that with tube amps. But a well regarded product that sounds good to you and be happy!  Enjoy the music!