I love the sound of Blackstar tube amps, but I've had issues with them as far as reliability. My current favorite is the EVH 5150III. It has all the gain I could ever need, and then some.
Having said that ...
I also love my travel set up, which is basically a Tech 21 RK Fly Rig with a pedal board that I run into the mixer. I also have a Boss ME80, which I haven't been able to use live yet, but sounds good for practice so far. And, I also have some amp sim suites. My favorite would be Amplitube 4, but I also like the Bias Amp stuff. I plan on releasing an EP soon, and all the guitar and bass tracks were done with those.
I have a funny story about a gig. After we were done, some dude came up and asked to see which amp I was playing. I showed him my Fender Mustang head, and he refused to believe that was the amp I had used because he "only liked tube amps, and he had heard one that night." He asked if I had a preamp, or anything else to mod the sound. I said no, and he left dumbfounded XD
Bottom line, use what works for you!