Yeah, you definitely want to find a good custom shop. Most flash shops are about quantity and not quality. I'm not saying that you can't find a good artist in one, but it is rare as the vast majority to top tier artists gravitate towards the custom shops.
I got lucky and found a shop where I was able to become friends with almost everyone there. Always make sure to get some sit down time with your artist. I don't care how good the guy is, if I can't have a friendly conversation with him, then I'll pass.
I get all my work done here : Liquid Courage (Omaha), mainly by Dave (Dup) Koenig. But, I've been tattooed 4 out of the 6 artists there.
If you're in town, I would say stop by and get inked, but they normally run a 1-3 month wait.
The four that I posted are all Dup originals.