EQing, specially vocals
The key to recording vocals is to capture it with the intention that you probably don't want to eq it later on. That's why it's very important to match your mic and preamp combination with the person being recorded; not all mics are suitable with all people.
Second, the vocalist must know how to "work" the mic. If one spends a lot of time managing levels with vocal tracks, then it's likely that the vocalist is either not familiar with the mic or the gain staging is not properly set up.
Third, the room plays a very important part with vocals. Improper isolation is often the weakness of most amateur recordings, next is dealing with room reflections. While vocals are often recorded dry, not taking the room into consideration can introduce reflections and resonances that can cause problems when trying to fit the vocal track into the mix.
In short, preparation is key when capturing a good vocal take. With the right combinations of the above, you may not even need to eq vocals.