Amp Question but not the What should I get kind.

[smooth55]

I've been fairly bored at work and have been reading reviews on various amps as I'm in the early stages of looking for an upgrade to my current SS crate amp. It's lived a good life but I'm looking to get a 1x12 combo or possibly a head/cab set up with all the lower watt options that are starting to become more popular...but I digress.
Anyway, I've been reading reviews of this amp or that amp, comments on this as well as other forums and I keep hearing people say stuff like, "It's a great amp, all you need to do is swap out the tubes or speaker and you're set."
So my question is, for those that have swapped or modded, or considered it, is it really worth it to go out and get a medium quality amp (nothing pro but not bottom of the price spectrum) only to have to upgrade the components? I wouldn't consider a lower end Ibanez with upgraded pickups or trem to be a viable option but are these upgrades because the parts need to be upgraded or are they more for personal taste?
I personally would prefer to buy an amp I like out of the box rather than buy something and hope to make it into something I like as far as taste is concerned. Let me know what everyone else thinks...

[ColinMmmmm]

Buy something you like out of the box. You can't test every amp with every combination of tubes. A great amp will sound good with all sorts of tubes, it'll just sound different . . . Although some companies ship tube amps with cheap tubes to keep costs down, and replacing will likely help.

[forest4]

Tubes, tubes, tubes!! I don't care what amp you have, from a simple low watt class A to an outrageously expensive boutique, you search and find the right combination of tubes, it will sound so good it will melt your socks! It took me over a year of experimenting the last time, but every time I plug in now, I almost get weepy. From your fingers to the guitar to the effects to the amp to your ear, and suddenly the hair stands up on the back of your friggin neck! If you haven't experienced it, your missing the best part. It can be a long and spendy task, but there isn't an amp out there right now, even if it seems perfect, that can't sound better if you put the work in to it.

[Vikingguitar]

If it sounds fine out of the box it will sound god whatever you use, theres a thread that says that the amp is built around the tube to make it sound better, so the best replacement is the same kind of tube. You wont maake a crappy one sound like a Mesa by changing tubes and speaker (I wish i could make a 300 bucks crappy amp sound like a mark iv by spending another 300 on it)