Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 were both very good operating systems. My memory is hazy, but I feel like Windows XP didn't really hit it's stride until SP 1 or 2, when USB really stabilized.

IIRC, XP SP3 was the canonical “use this” version.

Sorry, that was very misleading wording on my part. I started a job where they gave me a Linux machine that was lying around. When it was clear I was going to stay they said I could get whatever I wanted. I was going to get a Windows machine but since everyone else was on a Mac (and it was the time when the 27" iMac was brand new) I decided to follow suit and that's what I've been on ever since.

That's when the Explorer and task bar started getting convoluted, hiding things, and becoming abstract instead of concrete. It's done in the spirit of helping newbies of course but it actively harms folks who do understand, as well as crippling the newbies who might learn, to always be dependent.

Also, the transparent effects didn't help anything and look silly in hindsight. They also took out color customization and you couldn't have a dark theme for the next ten years!

Of course the type ahead search in the Start menu was a big improvement, and elevation for security. But as always one step forward, two steps back with modern Windows.