I like compression and have a Cali76G, done well it gives that extra je ne sais quoi to the sound.
Set it up to squash a bit and punch like Anthony Joshua, set it to allow harmonics and sustain, but it is defo more than a volume boost, although it can do that, and if compression is making you get lost in a mix, then the balance is not quite right.
Compression to some degree is used on all instrument including voice on all instruments of your records that you hear from the studio, so it can’t be that bad surely?!