You should also check out https://conda-forge.github.io/, which is building high quality, community curated conda packages for a lot of stuff that isn't available from the main Continuum channel.
For scientific work, I find it worth the effort to compile from source using Intel compilers + MKL (or a compiler + math library that can optimize well for your particular hardware platform).
aren't all of the default conda channel packages compiled with MKL now?
I'm not really commenting on the relative merits of the technology or who should use what. It's about the lack of admission that there is other stuff and other requirements
Personally, I started using Anaconda for everything and just drop down into pip when I find a package that isn't in there already, and it's been working very well.