Has anyone heard of Four Force amps? They make these sweet little inexpensive amps that sound and act like tube amps! They use something called Tube Illusion circuitry. I can across these from this review from Scott Grove. I found it very interesting and looks like these would be great if you hook up a 1 or 2 12" cab for playing live.
Recently I bought a Fender Mustang. It is a SS but it also has a good tube tone. It seems the technology is improving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNT5ecuy5jo Quilter Labs have developed an amp with solid state circuitry but gives a surprisingly tube like tone. The basis for the idea is that they do not allow the output circuit to be over driven. Unlike tubes where the output tubes give great tone when they are saturated, solid state just sounds horrible when it starts to work too hard. Give them a listen.