You have to make some decisions:
Balanced or single-ended
Tube or solid state
Generally, balanced reduces the coloration of the interconnect cables, but does so best if the preamp supports AES48, the balanced line standard. Many balanced high end audio preamps do not support the standard. If your amplifier only has a single-ended input, the incentive to go balanced is certainly reduced (although if you run a turntable, all phono cartridges are naturally balanced sources).
Tubes tend to sound smoother but often have more noise (not hum, just hiss), although all preamps make some noise. Tubes require occasional service, which is why the tubes are in sockets. However signal tubes often used in preamps can run well over 10,000 hours.
So a more meaningful list can be more easily compiled once these choices are sorted out.
Balanced or single-ended
Tube or solid state
Generally, balanced reduces the coloration of the interconnect cables, but does so best if the preamp supports AES48, the balanced line standard. Many balanced high end audio preamps do not support the standard. If your amplifier only has a single-ended input, the incentive to go balanced is certainly reduced (although if you run a turntable, all phono cartridges are naturally balanced sources).
Tubes tend to sound smoother but often have more noise (not hum, just hiss), although all preamps make some noise. Tubes require occasional service, which is why the tubes are in sockets. However signal tubes often used in preamps can run well over 10,000 hours.
So a more meaningful list can be more easily compiled once these choices are sorted out.