Best amps for rock and heavy metal

I play a fair amount of metal and have a lot of friends who play in metal bands too. But my system is all tube. My speakers are fairly efficient (97 db) and they go to 20 Hz, so with 60 watts I can play any volume I want and shake the house at the same time.

At work (Atma-Sphere) we have a number of LPs that get used a bass references (see http://www.atma-sphere.com/awards/bya/index.html). One of them (Zoon, Fields of Nephalim) has enough bass to shut most systems down at the 'proper' volumes. Side 3, the side opposite the etched side of the LP has some particularly awesome material that makes you shiver :)

I find that the powerhouse transistor amps can't make the bass impact right. You really need tubes for that!

Jc51373, what I find that (most) transistors cannot do is play slam and definition- crucial for playing metal. On top you still need to get the cymbals right. Ya need tubes! In fact, even in the studio, the best microphones for recording cymbals are tube condensor mics.

I admit that not all tube amps are up to the task. For that matter most speakers aren't either. But the question was- *best* amps for... and the *best* amps are tube. Getting bass right is easy- you just have to have bandwidth well below 20Hz and keep the power supplies stable.