One thing that I encountered when refinishing my basement was that I had a
real difficult time getting the outlet boxes level and straight. In my
naive mind I presumed it was pretty simple - attach box to stud and screw it
in. I think the reason why I assumed that would be enough is because I
assumed that the stud would be straight and level - not twisted and knarled
like some are.

So when installing an outlet box, is it common for people to plane the 2x4,
shim the box, or is there something basic I'm not doing that eliminates the
need to do all that?