I skipped Vista altogether, but I tried out the win 7 beta and liked it. Now I have the 64 bit RC installed and it feels good as well. It installs very easy and it even found and suggested drivers for my Saitek Hotas. I'm no expert but the Win 7 OS feels pretty solid.
Sure, Skybird, there are a few things that works a bit differently compared to XP, but you get used to it in a week or two I would say. At least I'm not looking back at all at this point.
cheers Porphy