I agree that LAX is nice in terms of the landscaping and lighted pylons and hey, the backlit arch windows at the termination of the American Terminal 4 concourse are pretty nice too... ( <- shameless self-promotional plug...
).
In general though LAX is horrible - it's smack in the middle of traffic-jam hell, the parking is awful and extremely expensive and honestly I think it's one of the most difficult layouts to navigate as a passenger while toting baggage (there are numerous level changes and elevators/escalators/stairs tend to be in less-than-obvious locations sometimes and can get cramped). Security screening can either be a breeze under 5 minutes or literally an hour an a half - depends on time of day in my experiences.
Long Beach is a bit weird and "old school" but it has character. My biggest complaint is that it's a bit of a hike from parking to the terminal (although it's all at-grade, with no level changes), the holdrooms get extremely crowded and busy and of course there are the stairs/ramps to contend with getting up to/onto the aircraft - no jet bridges. I actually kind of like it and don't mind these things. Parking is reasonably cheap too and compared to LAX it's a lot more casual and less of a ratrace. Just one guy's opinion though.
And being in Long Beach, it's a heck of a lot more convenient to get to.