I love Vista on my laptop. People sometimes will whine about how "Vista Sucks, yay XP," but their statements are often unfounded. Some people know what they're talking about, but lots of people who I see say that Vista is crap have actually never used it and are only say what they hear other people say.

If you are nervous and are comfortable with XP, then you could go with that. But once I got used to Vista, I really see no point in going back.