Generally (at least with guitar) I am in the opposite camp. I much prefer my dirt to come from the amph itself. That's why I really like my Jet City. However, I do with it had more clean headroom. It has virtually none on its own.
There was a time when I struggled to understand why so many people prefer to do things the way you do. Now that I've gotten older and listened to more guitarists talk, I totally get it now. I could even see myself getting a very clean amph, but I'd need some super dirty pedals