Distortion at your feet?

So I have recently been evaluating my gear. As with many guitar players, I am in a constant struggle with my "sound." I have gone through so many phases of desired change. Should I get this pickup? Maybe this amp? Maybe this guitar style? Maybe this set-up? One thing is for sure, I'm never completely satisfied. There are a few things I know I prefer tone/responsiveness wise, however one thing is still up in the air, distortion. Outside of a "fuzz" tone I have never trusted the tone from a pedal. I feel that the luscious, organic tone and response you get from over driven tubes can't be beat no matter what form of music you play. I recently have been reading a list of the most popular and most used distortion and fuzz pedals and now I have been tossed through a loop again. I had a suspicion that a few well know musicians used pedals over the years but I guess it never really sank in. For example, the BOSS DS-1 has been used by Eddie Van Halen, Kurt Cobain and Steve Vai. Dave Grohl uses the Pro Co RAT 2 and most everyone has used an Ibanez tube screamer at some point. I suppose it is much more manageable to have a set of pedals at your feet to be able to make your musical transitions more seamless and fluid, but at the same time most of the distortion pedals I have tested seem very sterile and forced. I want my guitar and amp to be able to speak together in natural harmony. Finding a great clean tone is not a huge problem but finding an amp that has an incredible clean tone AND an incredible distorted tone is a hard find it seems. So Im wondering now if Im wasting my time in pursuit for the perfect amp when I can just find one with a killer clean that I can cut to shreds with a good sounding distortion pedal. I am at a cross roads. We'll just have to wait and see whats out there to discover still. -G