Originally Posted by ungratefulninja

I get the "framework" part that you just build onto it and you can make it look however you want but what're you gaining beyond buying a custom theme for vanilla wordpress? I see everyone making a big deal about Thesis but didn't understand it.

I am reasonably good with php and customizing themes myself, are these big timesavers or geared towards entry-level users? I usually find a free theme with a layout I like and redo all the colors and graphics.