ATC is usually good but most annoyig thing is the chatter that comes over the frequency from inside the radar room, and quite often its people socialising. Sometimes, its so loud its hard to hear the contoller.
Tell me about it!
You get pretty good at tuning out the 'white noise' from those who don't have any traffic at the time.
Then when you get a quiet bit, you become the one causing the commotion!
It's a good point however - and partly related to the microphones on our headsets - they are a bit too 'wide area' on their pickups. I have noticed when I am flying and talking to ATC I can hear the STCA alarm going in the background - at least it improves may scan outside the cockpit all of a sudden!