There _is_ a getreceivedbyaddress call! I use it
.
Also, (get/list)receivedbylabel is nice for when you want to get the amount received by every address in each label. Let's say I create one-time use addresses for a store all with the same label. If I want to know how much my entire store has received, I don't have to call getreceivedbyaddress a million times; I just call getreceivedbylabel for the label.
I use this for my donations system in my signature.