I hate Windows explorer. I really wish they would add back Winfile.exe, just add long-filename support. I always had two-panes, side by side in a single window.
Since they haven't, the first thing I do is install PowerDesk. It costs about $29, but it is worth it. I setup my two-pane view in a single window, with drive icons and other shortcuts on the powerbar above.
PLEASE don't tell me how you can open up two explorer windows and place them side by side. That's a nightmare when you have many windows open.
Total Commander is also good.
Most of the time I run Ubuntu, so this doesn't come up much anymore. But I'm also in school, which apparently is sponsored by Microsoft, so I keep a Windows box around for that - and a few games!