*A ton* vs *tons of*

Is there a preferred or more common usage between the phrase "with a ton of xxx" or "with tons of xxx"? Both referring to something having an abundance of something.

Solution 1:

According to the following ngram, "tons of" is the most common:

Source: Google Ngram

Solution 2:

Yes, they are interchangeable, but here's how I usually use them:

A ton of: countable objects.

Tons of: uncountable objects.

Such-and-so candidate for mayor has tons of charm, but is a little light on the issues. Explanation: charm isn't countable.

She's already got a ton of stuffed animals, let's get her something else for her birthday. Explanation: the stuffed animals are countable.

(Yes, you could also say tons of stuffed animals.)

Solution 3:

The use of "tons of something" by LONGMAN Dictionary is given in URL.

tons of "something"

https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/tons-of-something

Therefore, the phrase of "tons of ..." also supports both countable plural noun and uncountable singular noun.