I agree though I think it has as much to do with the lower range guitars being used these days too. There's a certain smooth grind to SS distortion that I really like in the right context.
I don't want to step on anyones toes or get into an argument about what sounds better but I always laugh at the strange attitude some guitarists have when it comes to tone, especially considering the analog vs. digital or tube vs. solid state arguments. Guys will poo-poo SS amps yet swear by "analog" pedals, without really ever realizing or caring that they're precious pedal board is mostly solid-state.
I think SS amps just got a bad rap over time given the economics behind the technology. Amp makers saw they could build cheap amps in quantities they weren't able to achieve with tube amps and probably didn't pay as close attention to quality engineering or over all sonic appeal of each model since it was quicker and cheaper to get that many more out the door. It's certainly possible to make high quality, nice sounding SS guitar amps but not too many manufacturers bothered. Musical trends were changing too, popular musicians didn't cesessarily need great high gain amps when the switch started. New Wave was the new thing, clean chorused guitars where in, Robert Plant was crooning about big logs...
As far as maintenence goes, certain models may or may not be more sturdy than some tube amps. nothing about the technology would make it more vulnerable. It's just that a lot of amp techs HATE working on surface mount boards, which modern tube amps may use as well, but it's even more difficult to deal with when everything is surface or through mounted on a dual layer board. So it's going to be more espensive to fix if you can even find a guy in your town who will deal with them. Most of the techs around here just don't bother anymore. Cheap amps (cheap anything really) just aren't made to be reparable.
Anyway, I started to like the last Peavey Bandit I had. The last iteration of the "trans-tube" topology was pretty damn decent. All still solid state before they made the switch to the digital modeling vypyr seriers (which isn't bad itself).