There are 2 main types of SSD's in the market - MLC and SLC. MLC (Multi-Level-Cell) would be more of a 'consumer' version. It's less expensive than the SLC (Single-Level-Cell) version (considerably less expensive - by about an order of magnitude) but also has a significantly shorter lifespan.
The SLC types are generally Enterprise oriented - they can handle 5-10 times as many read/write cycles as an MLC type SSD before a cell fails.
HOWEVER - having said all of that, the real question is: what are you planning on running on the SSD's? Even Enterprise solutions will use the MLC SSD's to save some money. By Microsoft's own calculation, in a heavy-hitting SQL environment (and we all know how disk-intensive a SQL Database can be), a 4-disk MLC SSD RAID would last 7-10 years before it became too degraded to use anymore. (Keep in mind, SSD's are designed with extra cells to replace the failed ones - this way you get maximum listed capacity until a critical threshold of cells fail, at which time you replace the SSD). An SLC SSD can last for decades before becoming unusable, and these are generally used in critical servers that are expected to be running for a very long time with very little maintenance.
Standard application servers rarely come close to the disk performance requirements of a DB server, so you'll need to clarify 'workhorse.' But generally speaking, if you build a server and use the branded SSD's offered (whether this is HP, Dell, IBM, etc...), the performance will be fantastic and the SSD's can be reasonably expected to last the lifetime of the server. Also, if they are in a RAID configuration, they can be replaced should one fail ahead of schedule. Intel, Crucial, and several other major vendors also offer solid SSD options. If you go that route though, be sure to check on the controller - some older/cheaper SSD's include older, poorer performing integrated controllers.
A final note: today, most RAID controllers max out at a throughput of about 150,000 IOPS. This equates to 4 SSD's, which is why you generally don't put more than 4 SSD's in a RAID group - after that, you're wasting performance - the controller can't move data any faster. However, I know that at least one major vendor will soon be offering controllers with better throughput - 300,000 and 600,000 IOPS - taking you to 8- and 16-disk SSD RAID groups for increased performance. I'd recommend you check with your vendor for this spec when you are configuring your server.