Yeah things have changed so much with digital, anyone remember those old Zoom pedals and ART rack effect systems? I always preferred real amps but still thought those were cool for back then but they just couldn't touch the real deal, I remember when the Line 6 Spider amp came out and I knew people who thought it was so great, I hated it so much though I thought it sounded terrible.
Fractal changed my mind on preferring a real amp, don't get me wrong I love amps but in the case of the old desert island analogy I'd much rather have a Fractal than just one amp or even a few.