This seems to be the general consensus.
String swapping is a right of passage of the bass player. I went through a bunch of string swaps and learned a lot. To me this is the #1 reason to have two basses, one with rounds, one with flats.
Don’t use flats to cover up your inexperience though (cause they will).
Use flats for the tone they produce.
At some point you most likely will want the tone rounds produced (most rock, etc) and at some point you will learn to play them without all the extra noise.
Have you had your bass set up properly?
if not, you may get extra, unavoidable fret buzz that no level of proficiency will correct.
I would start there.
in general, I prefer flats over rounds but have many basses with rounds for various styles and tone. I do all my lessons with flats simply because I like the feel and the tone better.
Tapes are even more differenter. They sound a bit closer to an upright, with their own feel and thump/twang. I had them on an acoustic bass and am thinking of giving them a whirl on an electric soon as well. I wouldn’t reco them as your main strings though, they are limiting.
As for the Bruce Hornsby song, sounds like a synth bass to me (keyboard). You can get that sound on an actual bass with the proper synth pedal.