Sadly, that is what a lot of people think these days. There are other ways you can deal massive damage as an Ele, but there aren't really any good agressive builds that don't use SF posted (at least not that I could find). Sorry.
If you want 'massive damage', you run Searing Flames. It's really your only option.
If you want some decent damage plus utility, try one of these:
Blinding Surge
Lightning Strike
Lightning Orb
Gale
Glyph of Lesser Energy
Air Attunement
Resurrection Chant
Glyph of Sacrifice
Shatterstone
Vapor Blade
Blurred Vision
Freezing Gust
Glyph of Lesser Energy
Water Attunement
Resurrection Chant
Glyph of Sacrifice
Eles aren't very good at straight damage TBH, with the exception of Searing Flames. You need to aim to do other jobs in addition to the damage to be worthwhile.