tube suggestions/ brand new to tubes

NOS RECOMMENDATIONS

as far as recommendations, brand is not so important, as tubes were often rebranded, sometimes more than once, by whoever was selling them. 

tubs are identified by manufacture and type, so one may have to look past brand and accurately identify the make. 

here are some recommendations

5751  sylvania black plate triple mica, siemens, GE back plate 3 mica

12AU7 rca clear top, siemens nickel plate, mullard CV4003 box plate, philips heerlen long plate, sylvania 5814 triple mica

12AT7 rca 12at7WA/6201 black plate, valvo 6201, telefunken ECC801S
 

12AX7 valvo long plate, tesla E83CC, RCA long black plate, tung sol long black plate, siemens long place, mullard long plate, telefunken smooth plate

@robshaw  

You and I listen to very similar music.  I grew up in the 1960's and 1970's, and cut my music teeth on Prog Rock, Hard Rock, and Metal.  I still listen to that music, along with Prog Metal, Post Rock, and Experimental Rock.  A typical listening session may include Led Zep, King Crimson, Porcupine Tree, Talk Talk, Bowie, Radiohead, Dire Straits, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.  The tubes that @cey listed above are right in the wheelhouse for this type of music.  I'm very fond of Mullard and Telefunken, and I'm willing to pay the price for Andy to find and test the best matches for me.  You only live once!

I'm very familiar with Cookeville and the entire Cumberland Plateau area.  While most family members and High School friends went to UT and ETSU, I know several people that graduated from Tennessee Tech.  I grew up in Kingsport and lived in Knoxville while going to college.  Visited the entire area from Nashville to Kingsport finding places to fish.  To me, East Tennessee is one of the most beautiful parts of America.  I love all it has to offer.  I'm glad you like it there.

A third vote for Andy Bouwman at Vintage Tube Services.  If you're looking for NOS Mullards, for example, that's what you'll get.  Mark O'Brien, owner of Rogue Audio, recommended Andy.

Little advice about the term NOS.  True NOS tubes are unused. However, some sellers label lightly used tubes as "NOS" if they still test strongly on industrial testing gear. My preference is the latter vintage NOS because older tubes seem to be of higher quality and these particular ones have either been broken end or have some level of break-end performed.

@allenf1963  Thanks for the post. I'm going to look into Andy, Maybe tomorrow. Just looking to add an input tube 5751 or 12ax7 to the stable. Would like to have a better, as you described one for detail, etc. Once purchased, will most likely take everyone's advice and give the original tung -sol 5751 a 50 hr chance to win my heart. Also, should it die prematurely, I'll have nice backup. May play with the others tubes also, down the road. As I proceed  with the burn in, I have another hill to climb. I'm currently using my Pass lab X250.8, I also have A CODA 8 V1 Amp that I LOVE,  also. Sometime soon before any tube rolling, I would like to place it in the loop, and see which the Jackpot likes more, for Rock and Roll????   In my main system, I got a GREAT deal on A CODA 16, (which I'm still paying on) which gives you what ever you want, times 10. Just curious how the Coda 8 compares to the Pas x250.8, before any tube rolling????  Ps. I feel the same way about this area as you described!!!!.  I will let you know how everything plays out. Tks for the tube help. Robert