The best effect on the sound is no eqing at all. Usually i'll try to record in such a way that no eqing will be needed. If I do need to eq then I do it after it's recorded. In the past outboard eqs have been the best to use but nowadays the software eq's are starting to improve drastically. For non-surgical eqs I'm a big fan of the Pultec.

eq after recording if needed

I always EQ as needed on the way in.
I always do it in the analog domain if at all possible.
if it's NOT possible, I may use a plug in as an interim measure and then replace it with the analog EQ in the mix.

I don't think a "no eq" sound is superior, in any meanigful way.

It's like proving you CAN hit a home run whilst standing on one leg.
It's the home run that counts.

But EQ IS about making the sounds work well together, not just as 'tone controls' to make a sound.
Much better to get the sounds right at the source. and THEN EQ as needed.

Yeah, what he said. :D

I honestly don't know why you would be against using ANY eq, unless you were doing classical or something. Sometimes a mic will just pick up "too many" frequencies and you have to pull some back to make room for another instrument with a similar spectrum to poke through better. Mic choice/placement be dammed in a lot of cases.
But don't trust me; listen to the guy above me ^

PS: I do EQ in the box (software) after recorded, but that is just because I don't have awesome DA/ outboard EQ.

i'm sure after you read everyone's 2 cents, you'll have an idea of When, Where, Why, (How takes experience to master)... I think it's best to look at it from afar first and see what each track's fundamental/harmonic frequencies are going to be. you want a level, full mix, (punchy for rock, tight for pop, bumpin for hip-hop, smooth for classical,, etc... COMPLIMENT THE SOUND) you use eq before recording more for tone and such, and after recording for leveling everything out. you may want to decide which instrument is going to be low and beefy, and eq to taste, then decide which is high and whaling, eq to taste, and so forth. if you got too much going on in the same range, you may want to pick a dominant instrument for that range, and turn down that frequency on the others. i do this with the kick, snare, sometimes bass, and sometimes even vocals.(just depends on how much is going on and where. the idea IS to get it as close to perfect from the get go, then in your mix you get it as close to the bad-ass mix you want without full mix equing or anything. then once you can't make it any better by messing with the individual tracks, you can proceed to eq your full mix, but you seriously should not be jacking not cutting your levels here. it is the final smooth over like a thin layer of icing on a cake. everyone takes a different route here, but the goal is the same. hope that helps