I disagree that you can't value variety and novelty while being thrifty. There are a lifetime of recipes using very common ingredients in completely different ways. I would accept that one major part is differing spices which are relatively rare and expensive (at least, if you're trying to emulate a variety of non-Western cuisines and you're in the US).

I think we are both getting a little away from the original topic of what generates "hype" or in other words "excitement"

Take steak (common) and lobster (rarer)

Both are good, and I would rather live in a world without lobster than one without steak. That said, if you asked me what which I wanted for my next meal, I would pick lobster.

This doesn't mean you can't eat good food with variety on a thrifty budget. But even someone doing so might be especially excited to have something expensive that they don't normally have access to.