Well, John and CZ pretty much said what I was going to say after I found out where you were at!!
I'd stay away from most SS amps for the reasons CZ said, unless you can find a used Class A SS unit like a Levinson 20., 20.5, or 20.6 ($5k used +/-), Parasound, etc., but most other qualifiers, new or used will be over your budget COMPARED TO the sound you'd enjoy from an excellent tube amp (even at new prices) like a Conrad Johnson, McIntosh, BAT, and VTL. Audio Research (specific models) are OK too, but overall tend to be a bit lean/dry with Wilsons. If you like lean and ultra-sharp focus sound, the Wilsons deliver it, but you may as well get an SS amp (you didn't say what you're listening to now which would have been nice to know.)
In any case, you should A-B a couple of good tube, and a couple of good SS amps just to hear the basic difference, and then really get into finding the brand whose sound you like best. No further recommendations from these forums will be better than your own first-hand experience. And in most cases, all it's cost you is some time.
The Wilsons are great speakers though. And if I were a newbie, I'd get something of quality, but used, and cheap for right now (like a Bryston or Parasound or Roger Sanders new SS amp (www.sandersoundsystems.com -- made by hand by him and sold direct for now) and then wait 'til next fall and go to the Rocky Mountain Music Fest in Denver. And listen to a whole lot of stuff there -- at this point in your experience, that's the best way to build knowledge and confidence.
I'd stay away from most SS amps for the reasons CZ said, unless you can find a used Class A SS unit like a Levinson 20., 20.5, or 20.6 ($5k used +/-), Parasound, etc., but most other qualifiers, new or used will be over your budget COMPARED TO the sound you'd enjoy from an excellent tube amp (even at new prices) like a Conrad Johnson, McIntosh, BAT, and VTL. Audio Research (specific models) are OK too, but overall tend to be a bit lean/dry with Wilsons. If you like lean and ultra-sharp focus sound, the Wilsons deliver it, but you may as well get an SS amp (you didn't say what you're listening to now which would have been nice to know.)
In any case, you should A-B a couple of good tube, and a couple of good SS amps just to hear the basic difference, and then really get into finding the brand whose sound you like best. No further recommendations from these forums will be better than your own first-hand experience. And in most cases, all it's cost you is some time.
The Wilsons are great speakers though. And if I were a newbie, I'd get something of quality, but used, and cheap for right now (like a Bryston or Parasound or Roger Sanders new SS amp (www.sandersoundsystems.com -- made by hand by him and sold direct for now) and then wait 'til next fall and go to the Rocky Mountain Music Fest in Denver. And listen to a whole lot of stuff there -- at this point in your experience, that's the best way to build knowledge and confidence.