Of course pickups have something to do with the sound. However, so does string gauge, tuning, pick gauge, guitar, amp/settings, and the way you play.

I find the best way to describe pickup sounds is to look at their specs. For example, on the Seymour Duncan website they show the specs of all their pickups, such as "output". Which I find the most useful. Output shows how your pickup is going to act. I bought the "hot rails" for telecasters based purely on the specs and I love it. It is the highest output pickup they make, I beleive, and thats what I wanted.