It's not for everybody, although another big plus to SM effects is that because each maquette is very expensive to build, the effects are used fairly sparingly, which forces directors and writers to build suspense in other ways. You don't see that very much anymore.
Advances in maquette building (which is molded now, not individually sculpted), cheaper production costs, and digital cameras have made SM much more practical today. I mean, there's been a comeback: Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, Wallace & Gromit, Coraline, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox (coming soon). There are things you can do with SM that you can't do in CG and vice versa. They both have their place.
What I really miss is traditional 2D animated movies. What makes me happy is that every since John Lassater took over Disney, he's been making strides in bringing it back. Look for a new traditional Disney movie...complete with a new princess...soon.
FUN FACT!
Jurassic Park was going to be done, originally, with SM maquettes. If you have the DVD, you can watch Phil Tippet's original "raptors in the kitchen" sequence with SM raptors. Aside from the silly varanid tongues, it looks pretty cool. And that's just test footage!