re: >>With vocals, regarding FX.... use as little as possible.<<

There's a really cool pro trick listed in Bobby Owinski's 101 Mixing Tips website. I think it's referred to as the super delay something...you'll see it as it's extremely popular now.
It involved (he uses pro tools but it can be done in other DAW's as well) a stereo delay and adjusts left and right outs VERY SLIGHTLY by note lenghth. (i.e. left would be 16th, right would be 1/32. Pulls the dealy return (send track) down so it's almost not noticable in solo and not noticed at all in the full mix.
But the technique adds a wonderful shimmer to the vocals. It's one of those less is more type of techniques. Instead of trying to make reverb make the vocals sound wider or bigger, this technique just makes vocals sparkle a bit.
You may have to experiment with your DAW to get it right but it's a wonderful trick and saves hours of fooling around when you want that vocals to cut through the other instruments without sounding processed.