Yeah, but the player can adapt to the DM as well, the same progression list works as well for a player who discovered the wonders of the Handbook subforum and is concerned about not scaring the crap out of his DM is useful.
Of course, getting crap past the radar is itself a fine art.
DMs ban or disfavor certain things frequently, especially ignorant or worse, just aware enough to be troublesome sorts. By minimizing use of offending material, negative backlash can be avoided while still bringing competent characters to the table.
Unfamiliar systems - Psionics, Marital Initiators, Incarnum, Binding, Vow of Poverty, Truenaming, Shadowcasting and Warlocks, along with Homebrew anything. These generate confusion, especially those with abilities hidden in the option(like any alternate casting abilities), if the DM doesn't know these systems, they are likely to get negative reactions.
Unlimited <anything> - Anything unlimited is rated significantly higher(hence all the talk of warlocks being overpowered and the crusader's healing strikes being problematic) than it actually is. Anything unlimited not clearly built in and wholly intended is worse, running a recharge build sets alarm bells ringing. The converse applies, anything limited in use is perceived as weaker than it is, especially if its as limited as 1-2 times.
Campaign specific - Forget 'fluff is mutable', first impressions rule, and less open minded DMs will anchor a specific set of fluff to a specific set of abilities. Any campaign specific material except the current setting is suspect. Doubly so for settings like Forgotten Realms with significant baggage.
Source Obscurity - Mainly dragon magazine and web enhancements here, but less central books apply(the environments, the monster type books, etc) as well. The less the DM himself uses said source, the more suspect it will tend to be. SRD stuff is usually a safe bet, and few limit it further than Core + Completes + Compendiums generally. More specific materials might require more open DMs.
Source Usage - Its an instinct. The more sources, the more apparent complexity. Something using a different book for each feat and spell is more likely to raise hackles than something using two books. DMs recoil for reasonable(it being a pain in the butt to do referencing) and unreasonable(its obviously more powerful if you use a hundred sources) reasons, but they DO recoil.
Build Complexity - The more classes or the more elaborate the hoops you're going through, the less likely that you see the exact same build show up in generic fantasy, the greater the build complexity. Some may even reject Prestige classes for that reason. Maintaining low build complexity reduces the perception of power. Druid 20 is seen as more balanced than a fighter with four prestige classes dips.
Play complexity - Don't take an option if it's going to take you more than 10 minutes flipping around to work out what you're going to do. This is more a mercy to the player, know how good you are and work with that. Remember the DM has to track a hell of a lot, and every additional thing he tracks is extra work.
Don't build something that requires half an hour of math for one round of attack.
So basically also a list of different things you should have or be able to fight against at any given level should be included? Or at least a rough guideline, since there is no real consensus about most of those things.
Guidelines(mainly average modifier for a creature that actually uses that attack form and defenses) and iconic examples of things you meet at any given level are good ideas to know if you're on or below par for sure.