We are in the midst of a speedypants kitchen remodel. We moved into our 1970's house 13 years ago and survived just fine with 40+ year old cabinets we painted and put new knobs on. I love to cook, though, and have been dreaming of a better layout and, tbh, a more beautiful space.
I crack up at all the pronouncements about granite, which used to be a "must have" and now people denigrate as "so over" and have moved on to quartz, generally. We ended up choosing granite, partially bc I love that it's ancient rock right in your house and pretty to me, but probably even moreso that I resist climbing on the trendy bandwagon: marble looking quartz, white shaker cabinets etc.
It's embarrassing to admit how much thought I gave to which countertop we'd ultimately choose, but I know I'll keep them for the next 20+ years, as long as we live in this house, trends be damned.