For Mac OS X, just install Path Finder and forget about the default Finder. It's much much better than Explorer in Windows with a lot more features/power. Needless to say it clearly makes Finder look like what it is, basic (and getting crappier with every OS update).

The unfortunate thing about Mac OS X is that with every new release while a few positive features are added, a lot is getting worse. The default software is getting a lot more buggy, features are not properly conceived and developed and fixes are not being propagated to older hardware because the model cut-off is moving up rapidly.

Mac OS 10.7 Lion is the worst OS Apple has shipped since 2003, IMO. Prior to that Mac OS wasn't worth even considering as a primary OS.