You're both overgeneralizing and overstating the case here. PV is superior to solar thermal in a number of important ways, and grid-tie systems can be extremely cost-effective relative to storage.

The article here https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/solar-thermal-i... details them, but the TL;DR is that solar thermal is only useful for when a) the sun has been shining for the last few hours and b) your household currently can use a source of (low-grade) heat.

In contrast, PV can be used for all sorts of things (transportation, cooling) and can be exported to your neighbors via the electric grid.

Thermal storage is also not especially space-efficient. Best-case scenario is that you can store about 100 Wh (~US 1¢) of energy per kilogram of mass, which pretty much rules out any kind of seasonal storage.

Also grid-tie systems are a phenomenal deal compared to battery storage.

I live in a place with a pretty favorable regulatory environment, but the net effect of my grid-tie system is that I get to rent an 8 megawatt-hour battery for around US$8 per month. A battery system like that would likely cost in the single-digit millions if I were to purchase it.