Hi
@mikeyw - look what you've started!
Something that others haven't really touched on... why do you take photos? In my view, it is for any number of reasons:
1. Just for reference - they'll stay on the hard disk and rarely be looked at (if ever)
2. Just for me - I want to look at them and occasionally print them out
3. To show others when they come around but I don't send them to anyone else or upload them to Flickr etc.
4. To put on Flickr, Facebook, email to friends etc.
5. To print out and hang on my wall / give to others etc.
Let's be clear - if it's #1 all the way then do whatever you want... it's not going to make much difference. Very few people fit into this category though.
If it's #2 then, again, it's really up to you how you set up
your computer and printer. If you don't like the output then you need to change something, but it's your equipment and your choice. If you send them away to be printed then you either need to find a print shop which is set up just the way you like it (and stays that way) or you need to acknowledge how they calibrate their print systems and find a way to match that, at least for proofing purposes.
If it's #3 then a bit like #1, it is up to you. Bear in mind others may not share your views on saturation etc. but that's not really an issue for you - they're guests!
Now on to the more important stuff...
#4 - unless you are happy to have comments like "eurgh" that red looks horrible, then you need to acknowledge that people with calibrated displays will not see what you're seeing. Most importantly, this means that if you are editing an image, you are making changes to that image which could look completely different (and possibly not very complimentary) on calibrated displays. Maybe you don't care... in which case fine, but really don't expect positive comments from people who've gone to the trouble of setting up their displays to look neutral. Neutral is "good", by the way - if you are doing photo editing then you want a monitor simply to show the image in true light without applying casts, over or under saturation etc.
#4b - the average Joe on facebook etc. won't have a calibrated display and probably also quite likes oversaturated, oversharpened images. If that's your target market then fine, but don't expect too much positive feedback from people who don't fall into this category.
#5 - if you're spending potentially quite serious money having your photos professionally printed for hanging then you really do need to have some way of proofing. I'm afraid this means you need to calibrate your monitor no matter how much you don't like it... sorry!
As others have said, your first reaction post calibration might be "eurgh, that's flat and boring." In which case, you need to go through your images and boost the saturation/contrast etc. to whatever you think looks right. Funnily enough, I had to do the opposite: after getting an entry-level IPS panel (Dell 2412) and running through Lagom, I had to reduce the saturation in every one of my images (bloomin' laptop with it's cruddy display). Over time, you might wean yourself off over-saturated images... or not. If that's what your eyes & brain like, then that's up to you.