-> http://lee-soft.com/visplore/
Seems that this is a neat looking explorer to replace Windows XP explorer with.
There is also a Windows 7 start menu for XP, I believe, on the website.
I am wondering, if I should use Visplore in XP, if it will open folders with more than 5,000 files in it (instead of crashing like in XP Windows Explorer)?
While we are at it, the Windows 7 start menu for XP should look pretty cool, I imagine.
If unable to accomplish this, my favorite Visual Style for XP is Royale.
There are tons of visual styles, but Royale offers a glassy/blued look that is much better looking than the default Luna.
Additionally, I believe that it also works without patching anything to enable 3rd party visual styles (I think).