I used to date a guy who was a massage therapist & did the best deep tissue. I got the most amazing hot stone massage while at a hotel in Vegas, and the same guy also did a massage where you don't lay on your stomach but instead lay on your back on this bag of hot water & he does the massage beneath the bag. AMAZING! I had just quit a job and was celebrating in Vegas and was particularly sore & stressed from the quitting of the job & the flight out to Vegas. This guy exceeded my expectations and even left bruises. AMAZING!
I'm currently seeing a massage therapist as part of my back therapy w/ the chiropractor -- this girl uses a cream instead of oil which is nice because it doesn't leave you all squishy (which I hate). But the work she does is definitely geared towards muscle therapy than to relaxation. It's different but it works.
I HIGHLY recommend them. Like cheffy, they should be a regular thing as part of say, training or something, just to get your centered, relaxed and get the knots worked out. But at $50+/hr, it gets expensive. I'm also really picky about the massages -- if the person can't do hardcore deep tissue, I'm not interested.