Interesting topic. I'd say in the Windows category, Windows 7 and XP are the best. Windows Vista was just too unstable and a resource hog. Windows 7 is like... XP and Vista had a child, and you have the beauty of Windows Vista, yet the stability and smoothness of XP.
But I agree with a lot of what's been said here, all OSes have their purpose.. Except for the 4+ versions MS makes of Windows, I find that retarded.