I disagree. Windows 7 (which is really just Vista SP1) isn't universally an improvement over XP. The update system (which lives on today still) is crappier than the XP one, even when it required IE to run it! 7 will gradually eat a whole hard drive once WinSxS cancer starts to grow, 10 papers over this mess by doing a behind the scenes upgrade install every year like snake sloughing off its skin. The search doesn't work (everyone blames this on 10, which made it worse but 7 sucked too) and the UI is less customizable than previous windows. Continuing a trend in Windows, UI actions take more clicks and are further buried in each Windows version and 7 was no different.

Everyone loves 7 mostly because the mess of the 64-bit transition and the changed driver model had mostly been ironed out by the time 7 was released. It also actually had some new worthwhile technical features, mostly refined from Vista, that at least made a 2 steps forward 1 step back release. A feat Microsoft hasn't performed since.