From what I remember, more or less like shrimp, but a little more "earthy." It's been a long time, though.

Kinda between lobster and shrimp. They have their own unique flavor. They key for me is the boil, i.e. the spices they're boiled in. You can get a lot of that flavor by sucking the heads. I like a really spicy boil. If you like spicy food, you'd enjoy it. Just don't bother unless you're in Louisiana or southeast Texas. You have to get them fresh or they're not good at all. Up here in Nashville I haven't found any that I liked.

Gator, on the other hand, tastes just like tough chicken. You're not missing much.

Crawfish is/are a mix of Shrimp and Lobster, but it's really unique. It's all about the spices though. I boiled 160 lbs for my brother's housewarming party and it turned out perfect. The spice was just right, great flavor but not too hot. They peeled easy too. Two 80 qt pots going at a time took about 4 hours total.

Dem some good mudbugs der!

While you can get crawdads in several southern states, I'd agree Louisiana is king. I grew up in southwest Mississippi on the river. But even as far north as I was, it just wasn't/isn't the same. The craws are so much bigger and better down in the deep bayou areas, and the cooks know the best techniques. We never "shocked" crawfish back home. Shocking is the method of immediately cooling the pot after boiling. It keeps them from overcooking, and the sudden decrease in temp seems to draw in additional seasoning. I've also learned to throw in a stick of butter and lemons to help ease the peeling process.

I'd really like to Cajun boil a pot of lobsters! I had fresh lobster seaside in Gloucester, Mass and was kinda disappointed. Maybe we went to a bad place, but it was busy. Who knows. But if we could have cajunized it though, delicous I GAWRonTEE!