Is it possible to have vinyl nearly noise free?

Ralph, that's is exactly what happened when I upgraded my phono/pre-amps.  The solid state 70's and 80's phono/pre-amps  illuminated the pops and clicks.  I couldn't believe how quiet my LPs got after switching to a high end subminiature tube set of phono/pre-amps since 2009 or even the intermediate EAR 864 pre-amp & EAR 324 phono pre-amp from 2006.  Also, my MCs finally got the correct impedance loading using SUTs.   47K exacerbated the tipped up highs and record noise.

@geoffkait  There are already 10,000 threads about digital vs vinyl.  You could post on one of those.

@OP  My experience is that the factors that influence ticks and pops the most are:

1. Good Setup.  Get your Azimuth, Tracking force, VTA, etc right and with the stylus deep in the groove you will be mostly hidden away from the nasties.
2. Clean records.  Easier said than done.
3. Elliptical or better stylus.  This works with 1. above. 

A thousand pardons. No, make that 10,000.

It is most certainly possible to have nearly noise-free LPs. It takes a good LP start with, proper turntable setup, a way to keep records clean (I use ultrasonic), and a good phono preamp. All of these elements combined are the reason that many people can't be bothered with LP and I don't blame them. If I hadn't grown up in the LP era, my system would probably be all digital. But I'm glad that's not the case.

Whart, yes stuff will collect on the cantilever especially if the record is not grounded out. Again this is where the artist brush comes in handy. I use a very soft little pointed one. with alcohol you can safely clean the cantilever and the front of the stylus. 
What happened to your Airtight? I have a Supreme and it is built like a tank. It would take thousands of hours of play time to wear it out.
Atmasphere, I have never heard a phono stage make tics and pops. I would think that ultrasonic ringing would cause steady state distortion/overload if the unit's frequency response went that high. Granted my experience with multiple inexpensive phono stages is limited. My first preamp was a Dynaco PAS 3X and I was using a Pickering cartridge. I was listening through AR 2ax speakers which had a horribly muted high end so pops and tics were wonderfully suppressed. If the phono stage were at fault all records would make noise so if you have some very quiet records but others are noisy you can forget about the phono stage. Some cartridges seem quieter than others. It would seem stylus shape would have something to do with this. I have a friend who uses an old conical Denon because he has a lot of old less than optimally cared for records and he swears it is quieter. He was an early digital convert. He also ruined his CDs. Computer music is wonderful for people who don't take care of their stuff. This friend still has not got himself a back up hard drive! Busy Busy Busy.