I know a few people with felony arrests (charges dropped) who had the records expunged pretty easily. It was a simple form filed with the court, and the record was clean for later background checks. It's a hassle, sure, but it makes the rest of your life much easier.

In some places it may be easy as filling out a form. In other locations (Arizona for instance), there is no such thing as expungement. The best one can hope for is a little note next to the record saying judgement has been set aside.