They are pretty bad.
A guy I use to work with had several very nasty ones and didn't want to sit down during the week he was was passing them. He didn't have surgery.
Now my grandfather had to have surgery to remove his. The first time he had them he didn't, but the second time they were just not able to be passed.
Judging by what I saw the guy I worked with go through, I'd say surgery looked less painful and easier to recuperate from. But not having had them myself, I can't really say.
I'm hoping the amount of green tea I drink a day will keep me from having to deal with it when I am older. From what I have heard, that's suppose to keep the crap that forms the stones under control by diluting it to pass through the urine.