IMO you can get very similar results but it takes a chain of plugins to get the glue effect of an analog sound but you can get there.
Majority of listeneres wont notice it anyway. The trick is to not use plugins in the chain fully, wet or parallel is the key. I love digital and i have analog gear but digital is just convinient.
The bigger difference i personally notice is using analog synths, they just fit easier in the mix, requires less processing, but you can do it all digital and make it sound great as well.

 

It's a great lesson

 

The best part of about plugins is that I don't have to worry about fixing hum, grounding, cable types (TS vs TRS), humidity changing sound and total recall of individual synth patches. That hassle is worth it for some, but like Scheps said, you can achieve similar results though you have to be more clever with plugins.

Of couse the downside of plugins is the laziness or anxiety of committing/boucinng each track to audio. There's so much more "what if" in the digital realm because we have the convenience of keeping midi and playing with perameters. In the analog world, you had to record your synth part in a reasonable amount of time so you can change the pactch for the next track. More discipline was required then - now its optional.

 

Part 3: Analog vs digital - can vinyl ever sound better than digital?

In this concluding episode, I cover one of the most contentious topics in HiFi: vinyl vs digital. I explore the subject as a listener, hifi enthusiast and recording engineer. Below, you will find useful links to an array of free of charge supporting material, including an uncompressed sample of one of my studio recordings, scientific documents on the topic of digital and other items.

Spoiler: Chapters:

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
03:43 Overview
07:24 Dynamics and mastering
13:49 Recording for reality
20:21 The emotive connection
24:41 Conclusion

 

This is why you freeze individual tracks, instead of rendering them. It frees up CPU resources, but it reduces endless tweaking habits. You can go back and fix something if you really have to, but otherwise you just consider it already locked up and keep going.

 

Nice. This was one of the first videos i watched on that made me realize that the lack of gear wasn't the reason i was sounding bad. Then i worked on being a better listener and making more accurate moves with the tools i had at my hands. Now i don't really miss HW while mixing. I just miss it while tracking, because recording with plugins... Nah.