Joined Surfaces vs. Solids

 From:  SurlyBird
3321.1 
I'm relatively new to modeling with NURBS and solids, so if this seems like a silly question, then please chalk it up to my ignorance (I did a short search on the forum but didn't see this topic addressed directly). When working in MoI, should I focus on making solids over joined surfaces - or, rather, is it bad to have a model turn out as a joined surface instead of a solid? There seems to be inherit advantages to working with solids (clean booleans, easier fillets and chamfers come to mind), but in some cases, getting a mesh to be a solid seems like more trouble than it's worth. Thoughts?