Where do you stand on production and mixing? How do you prefer?

Basically I realized that I like a clean production where instruments can be heard separately, none of them sonically feeling superior or inferior but also all of them harmonizing quite well. I even prefer this in the rock and metal albums that I listen to. I come across here and there that some metal listeners prefering to keep it raw and gritty, but the feeling of some instruments getting drowned in the mix and that intensive after effect of the sound suppressing the instrument sounds really pushes me of. I am a mere listener and don't know that much about the technical side, but avid to learn. This is probably the best I can elaborate on how I feel given the lesser technical knowledge and terminology I have. How do you prefer?