I was really happy with XP until my old desktop pc went kaput. Would have stayed with XP otherwise. My new one came with Windows 7. It's very good and works well for me after getting used to it.
Some things do seem to take longer with 7 though. Used to be simple to move files and photos around. All this dragging them seems to take longer.
Hopefully this new pc will last a few years. We'll be onto 11 or 12 before it needs replacing.
You would really think after all these years and many many windows releases, that microsoft could come up with some thing a bit more informative than a dialog box that simply says installation failed, with an OK button, well its bloody well not ok!!! Grrrrr!!