Hi @moose408
There is a discussion here that I suspect will be a nice debate to study. 
Practice Amp for 1st Electric Guitar
There are a several small amp discussions around the forum. you should do some research there and see what you can learn that is meaningful for your goals. Picking an amp is really not easy when you lack familiarity with the sound and feel of the options.
I have never played through a tube amp, yet folks say there is no equal. I may have got a small taste of that when I bought a $60 Hotone 5W (solid state) tweed styled amp and played it thru a gutted Fender Princeton (no amp, just speaker). Felt different in a good way, and it is the setup I keep behind my desk as I work from home. It won’t peel paint or shatter the windows, but it is louder than I want to hear most of the time even at 3/10.