Although I don't know what the BSD license actually is, but I know that GPL is bad and LGPL or MPL are ok.
I have yet to see an API that is "bad". There are API's that are more restrictive than others...
So BEFORE looking to the API, look to the license!
What good is an API with a good license, if it doesn't do the job?
Always look at the API first, and then evaluate the license. If it costs money, so what? - if it gets the job done quicker, more easily (and has a future) - then by all means use a closed source API. However, I prefer open source projects by far!
oh, and btw: Never ever say that GPL is bad outloud, you'll get a million GPL zealots on your back
