I loved my AP Courses (except Chemistry, bad teacher). If this hadn't been mentioned before: you need to check with the colleges you are looking into to see if they first, accept AP credit, and second what score you need to get on the test to get that credit. I think for most colleges it is a 3 and above (out of five).
I took AP US History, World History, Biology, and Chemistry. I had fun in every single one of them, and enjoyed them immensely. Except Chemistry, our teacher didn't really teach us anything we didn't get from general chemistry. I'd say they prepared me for a college type course. They are not equal, but they do help.