OTOH, an opamp IC has about 8 pins to make a connection to while a
transistor only has 3. An opamp is also easier to unwittingly have
oscillate than a transistor. Sometimes a one chip solution is a lot
more of a burden than expected of the novice.



Well the idea is that generally you need more than a single transistor for
an amp, but as with anything like this feel free to experiment, there's no
one correct solution by any means.