It's been my experience that there ain't no shortcut when it comes to lighting. It pretty much sets the entire mood of your render. I typically invest around 30-50% of my time setting up the lighting to capture a particular mood. I've tried using presets but end up fiddling with them so much that they no longer resemble what they started out to be. You might also try looking for some photography tutorials to learn lighting basics. I usually begin with my main light source. Where do I want the light to come from? Then start adding additional lights to fill in areas that need additional highlights or color. As for the lack of quality in tutorials you mentioned, you might volunteer to help edit some of them.