In the past flash was a main staple of the web industry. With it’s shiney effects, and easy to create animation, designers created the first wave of really creative interactive websites. However Flash presented many technical hurdles to the expansion and modernization of the web. For one, a plugin was required to view the content, and those without were left to a blank HTML page. Second, and more importantly, all the content of the site was locked inside of one file, making it impossible for search engines to index the site. It also made sites a nightmare to update.
Now Flash is used more as a seasoning that is mixed into HTML. This is a more appropriate use for the technology, and there are many good examples.
Here are a few (I’ll update this list gradually):
http://www.multitouch-barcelona.com/