Not having the right spell was room for creativity... usually it meant how to creatively use the fireball spell...
it was fun though... when to hold back, when not. (I know the 5 min workday complaints will come...)
Actually 2nd editions was a lot more fun in that regard than 3.5th edition. (3rd edition was a middle ground, actually) As spells were usually written in a more open/pseudorealistic manner, you could apply creativity...
The spellbook of wizards in 4e is a farce however... when you have the choice between 1 of 2 spells, yoú usually take the favourite one. If you can chose 3 out of 10, you can actually make use of those choices...
Also in 2nd edition there was the spells and magic system for casters, where you paid spells with points and were able to enhance the spells, prepare more lower level spells and most importantly memorize a free spell of a level, which used up basicall 2 slots but allowed spontaneous casting of the right spell.
So IMHO if you do vancian spellcasting, do it right, and don´t pay just lip service to it. IMHO it is all or nothing in that regard. (With the exception of maybe options to allow for a bit more flexibility.)