I kinda think the wen looks kinda neat. It gives a goldfish a lot of character, and it's probably the main reason why the oranda is so popular. By balloon-cheeked , i'm guessing you are talking about the bubble eye goldfish. Yea those and the celestial eye are a little strange looking, but some people really like them. Just like some dog breeds (i.e. Dachshund)  are really bizarre looking but many people think they are cute.

First of all I am really offended because I LOVE Orandas and have 4 of them! I think they're gorgeous! They remind me of fat puppies begging for a treat!  They are so friendly and let me actually pat them and pet them! Their so called "brains on the outside" are not brains at all but their Wen.  The Wen is just fibrous tissue that grows on top of their head or around the head area.  I think it is cute as they look to me like they are wearing a hat.  And further more...beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Some of the other breeds of goldfish are not my favorites but I would never post that they are disgusting looking because I know that other people on here might think they are beautiful.  Certainly it is very hard to breed these exotic varieties and takes years of patience to do so.  While I may never want to keep a more exotic kind, I respect the people who do so.

the goldfish with the big bubbles on there face are very friendly and go well with other gold fish. i was also afraid of the bubbles popping. so when it got caught on one of the plants i thought for sure it was going to die but with in a few days it healed. and lived a long time. I just wouldnt recommend any sharp plants or decorations in the tank..

the real plants are really cool but they will not grow.. the gold fish will eat them LOL i have tried that as well.i would say no the gold fish are really adaptable to there environment and are really easy to keep alive.. but they do grow quite rapidly

Ijust like fish to be friends. right now Sonorus and Tiger just kinda swim around and then they sit at the bottom of the tank... its kind of annoying because they've been doing this forever but my water chemistry is amazing

Katarine: Since bubble eyes don't see too well and spend most of their time at the bottom, it is better to keep them separately so that they'll get their own share of food (: Otherwise your faster fish would probably take it all from them. So you could rather keep them with fish with similar "handicap" like a celestial.

salty-J: All goldfish have a kind of wen, but it's only on some varieties like the Oranda, lionhead or ranchu where it's this big and well developed. Either way, I wasn't too fond of Orandas the first time I saw them, but lately I think completely differently of them, and I would love to have a red and white one (: They have such beautiful bodies and graceful fins! And the thing that made me change my mind about headgrowth was actually the Ranchus. Try googling them and looking at the cute bow they have on their back and those adorable little caudal fins! <3 Then you'll also notice that headgrowth is pretty cute after all (:
On the other hand, I feel really sorry for bubble eyes. Sure, they can be pretty cute and pretty too, but I still have a feeling that it's not very pleasant for them to live this way. Same with celestials.

But I am not too fond of these cigar-shaped goldfish, like commons, shubunkins, comets and the like. I do like them of course! But I wouldn't quite want any of my own (: I prefer goldfish with rounder bodies (:

well, taking a good look at the Ranchu I can see them looking more like those wrinkle-faced dogs, which I think are cute.....a thousand apologies Mindemae! Of course everyone has there own opinion! 

Salty-J
Apology accepted! 
We all love our fish.....and no matter what they look like they all came from the drab, olive green colored carp.
It's hard to believe that all these different varieties came from one type of fish!

Well thats an interesting tidbit of info

Welcome Fleabie! 
You know that is exactly what I thought of Orandas too!  Their wen was totally intimidating to me and I thought it was squishy but now that I've been patting my fish on their little heads the wen is quite firm and not squishy at all!   They are soooo friendly and hover around and bump my hand if i'm in there fixing a plant or doing some maintenance.  I just love them!  I have the commons, comets and shubunkins but they are rather shy of hands that come into their world.