Despite Waves' idiosyncratic installation, licensing, and maintenance schemes, there are reasons why they're the big dog in the plugin world. Their stuff works as advertised, is generally more stable than most, and in recent years has been available at crazy-cheap prices during their frequent promos. Many professionals have spent thousands of dollars on Waves plugs that have been sold lately for peanuts -- the same stuff that's been used on countless commercial recordings.
Classic plugs like L1 and C1 still get a lot of use at my place. They always do what I want them to do.
The whole Renn bundle is rock-solid and works better than many newer competitors. The H-series plugs are also reliable workhorses.
The Abbey Road package is full of vibe and character, as are many of the modeled plugs with names like Kramer, CLA, and Scheps. The SSL, API, and Neve emulations have been pro mainstays for years.
Nobody does multi-fx boxes better -- the new Greg Wells stuff is fantastic, and the rest of the Artist Sig series is a lot of fun.
Finally, I would not want to be without a lot of their more utilitarian tools like MaxxBass, MaxxVolume, Vocal Rider, and Center.
For many if not most of the Waves plugs I use, I haven't found equivalents elsewhere, so I'm going to disagree with the claim that all Waves stuff can be replaced with products from other vendors (who may or may not be more customer-friendly).
Bash Waves all you want (a common pastime), but the fact remains that they're used more than anything else in the pro world.
Cheers,
Eddie