As far as art, it's all subjective, there is no "better" :) Accurate - now that's a different story.
And I agree with you, analog nonlinearities are more apparent when you generate the sound.
Having said that, as a practical example, there is a big difference in the sound of drums (loud, fast transients) recorded to tape vs digitally. I really like the sound of tape for certain things. For some things, it doesn't make that much of a difference. The amount of mojo depends on your tape recorder, tape formulation and amount of overdrive.
