Oh yes. Many common flowers are poor nectar producers. Herbs are great insect attractors. I also believe that the fragrance of the foliage adds to the effect, many insects are drawn to complex scent molecules in general.

Many hybrids, such as all the annuals you mention, are sterile. This goes for many hubrid perennials as well. Basically, breeders have improved away the pollen, which is what attracts insects. Stick to unimproved species, and you'll have pollinators.

It is not the pollen that attracts most insects but the nectar. I honestly don't know if male sterile flowers also do not not produce nectar.

Some insects, of course, also feed on pollen.....but they've gotta have that nectar for energy! In most cases, the transfer of pollen is merely an accident.

I am amazed at the insect attracting quality of plain ol' basil! All kinds of pollenizing insects swarm these plants until the frost kills them completely!

I had some cinnamon basil last year, and I noticed also that lots of insects liked it, especially carpenter bees. They always stayed near the basil.

One of our biggest attractors is Joe-pye-weed, closely followed by mountain mint (Pycnathemum? - I butchered that spelling, sorry) as well as herbs in the garden. Any kind of aster seems to be a big hit with small wasps and flies, too.

Different animals that pollinate flowers have different preferences. I have seen tables in ecology books about which animals are attracted to flowers based on their shape, size, color, scent and the sugar content of the nectar. This also works from the plant's side because certain animals are best suited to properly brush against the pollen for transfer to the next flower. Like so many things in nature, the rules do not always apply perfectly and there are a few generalists and cheaters that don't pay much attention to the rules, anyway. My favorite flowers for attracting a wide variety of pollinators are agastache and porterweed (Stachytarpheta.) Jillmcm's suggestions are good, too.

I saw this article on problems with pollinators. It DOES say that hybrid plants can be a problem for pollinators.

Here is a link that might be useful: Decline in Pollinators