I do think the best thing is to do it yourself, however, I also think that trying some presets can be very helpful. For example, some of the add on presets for the waves SSL stuff are pretty handy (is it the Jack Joseph Puig ones? ). The kick drum preset from that collection is actually pretty nice. The biggest thing however is to maybe try some. When you here on that you like, or is even interesting, you can take a look at it and see what was done to to get that specific sound and then use some or parts of that technique to apply in your own mixes. The specific preset I am thinking of has some pretty serious EQ'ing going on, but sounds great on many kick drums. Some of the EQ'ing is pretty extreme and as a result, many people may never figure that out because they are hesitant to process something that hard.
One thing to remember with presets though, is that often times those presets worked well when created but that was with a specific tracking chain and/or source signal. So not only is it all subjective, but also came out of a whole different set of circumstances. Personally, I do not make presets for myself. I find that when I do that it makes it too easy for me to apply things without giving them proper thought and attention. I don't transfer mix templates across a mix either so it forces me to do each thing I want done which gives me another opportunity to address why i might be something and ask myself if that thing is the right thing, or even necessary. Also, once you have been mixing for a while, you know how to quickly maneuver your mix in the direction you want without having to just load stuff.
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