Mixing Tips Needed

Dear Moderators & all concerned. Great to know you have all this experience & are having so many Projects. Hopefully we can all benefit Form your vast knowledge. I'm New to the Forum, but I have been using PT5 & upgraded each time to PT8 with Waves Diamond & now upgrading to PT11. I believe Pro Tools is the Grestest. Compared to spending Thousands of Dollars in the Studio, I can do it at Home. Sure there have been ups & downs, but that has been my Learning Curve. Once I learned from my Mistakes - All is Well. That is why I am reluctant to upgrade too soon. My question (finally), like most, I make several mixes. I noticed the mixes I like best are not anything like the mixes on the radio or the ones I use as a Baseline. For example, Cold Play, Food Fighters, etc. I can get a sound comparably close. But compared to what I like, they sound very Compressed & not Natural. And they are a lot more Compressed (little by little) than the Natural Sound I like. Is this just the way the Industry Standards are recorded nowadays ??? Or does very from Genre to Genre ??? Just looking for a little Direction. Thanks in Advance ...tc