Yes but includes all media and settings which could be invaluable to someone who has since changed computers and may not have access to all of the same data.
In any case, here's an apple article to help u choose which backup fits your needs. I think we can all agree that keeping it backed up is step one.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5262
Well it is if you're speaking specifically towards only restoring a backup. You still have to sync certain info back over and things could have changed on your computer that didn't on your phone. I prefer my phone to be exactly the same when I'm restoring a backup.
It doesn't put back music or apps for example. U have to go in and manually redownload them whereas iCloud restores it exactly how u had it to begin with.