I think most people get good kicks through "sample design", compression, eq, and a little luck.
Here are a couple of tips that go along with what Manuel said earlier:
I saw a nifty little tip in Computer Music UK. Let's say that in the busy sections of your mix the kick is muddied. Whatever should you do?!
Try this: Open up you sample editor. Take a low booming kick and a higher kick that has a click at the beginning of the transient.
Cut the first part of the transient of this latter kick (you should be able to tell which part this is because, of course, it is at the beginning and is more jagged than the rest of the sample).
Merge this with the low booming kick (put it at the beginning). Now you have a low booming kick with a click at the beginning. This will cut through the densest mix.
This next one a well-known producer uses:
1) select a good sounding bass drum that has good power in the midtones. when selected, look at the waveform, take the highest point and put the beginning of your sample play there (it results in a 1khz clip you can't get with eq). when done, trim the kick, then remove the low freqs (let's say up to 500hz).
2) select another kick (808 style for example) with much low freqs, and remove the treble till 1khz.
3) put them in your arrange window and make a loop with them, both playing at the same time. Then put a delay on the lower kick, just 2 or 3 milliseconds.
4) merge them into one sample (kicks are always mono), if needed resample/rerecord the result.
5) First compress the new kick, with a 11ms attack, treshold -10/15db, and ratio 4 or 5:1, and NO release
6) eq it if needed (most of the time you won't have to)
7) you got a new bass drum, enjoy!!