I've been thinking about doing this for a while now, just for fun and possibly to learn something too.  With those being the primary goals I'd like to do it on the cheap and hopefully still make something that sounds decent.

Is there anywhere to get decent quality power transformers and tube sockets without breaking the bank?  I've got no idea where to start with tube sockets besides buying from random ebay sellers (who mostly seem to based in China) with good feedback and hoping for the best.  For the power transformers, is there a better budget option than Hammond?

Also, while I have been reading up a bit on the theory behind tubes I don't know much at all about what's actually available on the market and for how much.  Since output transformers probably would break the bank I'll probably have to go OTL.  Right now I'm thinking something like paralleled cathode followers in hopes of a low-ish z-out but I don't even know how I should start looking for output tubes short of grabbing random data sheets and compiling all the relevant parameters into a spreadsheet or something.

Anyone got any ideas or am I asking too much?