10-tops seem to be the ones with the most grain - in particular the fine lines that seem to be quite even. Personally I prefer more characteristic or even different cuts rather than something that looks very even which may be why I prefer some of the non-10tops to actual 10tops.
For example, My Custom 24 has a 'Chevron' cut and I find this far more aesthetically pleasing than those 10tops that are very fine lined and perfectly book matched
This is not a 10top and I like the fact that some of the lines are wider, less even and think this adds more character. This too has 'hybrid' hardware as it has a mix of Brass and a 'Silver' coloured metal as you can see in the bridge here. Also can see the Hybrid hardware on my 509 below...
Again not a 10 top. but you can see it has more of what I consider character because its not super-even. My 594 is more 'even' with more fine lines but not so well book-matched but in a lot of ways but I still think it has more character because its not 'regular'
I am not saying that I wouldn't buy a 10-top because they are so finely grained and much more 'even' in general but I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to make sure I had a 10-top in particular. Its MUCH more important to buy the guitar you like first and foremost. If it happens to be a 10 top, so be it and if not, then its a 'bargain' because its often cheaper (assuming its not Artist grade or Private Stock of course). Tone-wise, you will not hear a difference - other than the very small differences you find between guitars anyway as wood is not perfectly consistent.
I know that part of buying a guitar can be the way it looks. I know when I go to a Guitar shop, I am attracted to certain guitars and the ones I don't like the look of, I don't bother trying. They could be the 'best' sounding guitars but if it looks 'unappealing' to me, then I won't even try it to find out. 10 tops are part of this too - hoping that they catch your eye more than the standard top models so you go to those first and part with your money. There is nothing wrong with either a standard or 10 top, neither has a tonal advantage - its just aesthetic and perhaps will have a higher resale value too - after all only '10%' of all cores will have a 10-top in theory...