Well I agree with you guys, my main concern isn't against fruityloops, but the fact that presets in general may make something sound 'good' but they don't encourage the user to learn about exactly why they are using that preset and what the individual settings do.
   Sure they are a good way to learn about the plugins themselves but I would strongly recommend some additional learning so you can get the best of them.

   Also, any program that uses scores of it's own plugins in a bundled package (FL, Acid) tends to encourage a mastery of that program rather than a mastery of making music.
   This is why the best plugins comply to industry standards VST, AU, RTAS etc to be used in more professional sequencers... although I agree that FL is awesome for DJs and electronic music.
   Also I'm speaking from experience as I've used FL since v3 and I have FL Studio 7. It's a great program and alot of the effects are good, and I'll concede that the EQ/Compression in FL7 is much much better... I just think that too many people use compressors without knowing how they work... which causes poor results.

   ...and I would strongly recommend that people who are new to recording stay away from multiband compressors. If you don't know why you need a multiband compressor and what they do, then you shouldn't be using one. It's great if you understand compression and particularly useful for dance music but (personal experience here) if you don't understand what you are doing (which I didn't) you end up crapping over your mixes.

Hint: I dont use multiband compression at all, except for dance music or a mix where the bass and/or kick is too weak, where I will apply light mix compression first then bass compression to fatten the bass without effecting the rest of the mix, then finish with a loudness maximiser and limiter.

   The final thing to add is that multiband compression is (almost) always used on a final mix... *not* on individual parts, although I'm sure you know that avi just pointing it out for the new guy