I am really surprised there isn't more emphasis on hardware in these forums. Of course, it is a software forum, but still, much of recording has do with actual recording of acoustical energy, and one would think it would be more discussed. Of course, there is always Gearslutz, where they count the number of preamp on the head of a pin.
I still use hardware synths (FIZMO, Mini, Odessy and a Siel) but mostly soft synths for synthetic, not acoustical emulations. For my own music, analog synth sounding strings etc. and "sounds" are more important than realistic emulations. But unless you are recording acoustical drums (I don't really have the room), AD and drum synths are hugely important. It is the one thing that can put home recordings on par with big studios, because it is next to impossible to record good drums in a home studio. And I know re-mixers who replace/augment drums from major studios - what chance does a 14 x 15 ft room with 8.5 ft. to the ceiling have. It will likely either ring or be baffled to sound death when put up against loud drums.
For more minimal acoustical recordings, a nice front end can overcome a lot of obstacles. The garden variety of conversion and pres in most modern interfaces are great. But there are times when big ole transformer goodness can help, and all those nice electronic components passing electrons can stamp your sound just like a large console. It becomes easier to get a big, round, sound, and some sudden loud acoustic recording that will crap out an IC pre that has 55 dBs of gain, just goes down digitally smooth as a spoonful of sugar. More gain also = distance or reach with your mic, so you can back it off signals with extreme range of gain, which can give you tone but also help protect from mic overs since air and space naturally compress sound. Doubling the distance to your mic means only a quarter of the signal energy is hitting the mic. Of course, with only 55 dB of gain, that signal is now wrestling with the noise floor.
The best hardware I've collected lately is all front end stuff. The RND (Neve Designs) Portico II does everything - pre, comp, eq & filters, de-esser and silk. Stuff comes in and sounds better, it has tons of headroom and does just about every trick. Once you get a handle on it, you can deliver a rock solid, pre-shaped sound to your computer, shaving off a few dBs of via compression to deliver a firm signal. It really makes mixing so much easier, and the more you work with it (or similarly spec'ed hardware) the easier and quicker it is to shape the sound since you know what it can do. The other great buys are WARM Audio's 1176 and LA-2A. Those are historically distinctive units, almost one trick ponies, but the trick they do you've heard on just about every commercial release for 50 years. Software works nice, I love Cake's versions, and softubes etc. But there is something about going in with the tone live that software can't quite replicate, at least to my ears. It is part of the beauty of recording. I know a lot of people claim there is no difference between software and hardware, or between hardware units, yada yada yada. But tell a guitarist that all 6 strings sound alike. Or feel. Or an Orange sound the same as a Roland amp. I mean, they both are just amps. You'll get pushback.
The more you get it right during tracking, the quicker and easier the rest of the process goes.