I've been thinking about this lately.  I use computers A LOT.  I use a lot of different applications to do a lot of different things.  I thought I'd post a list of my preferred applications for doing various tasks.  There's a lot of options out there, and this is the list of stuff I prefer to use:

Operating System: 
Windows XP.  Although OSX is safer, and Vista is totally sweet looking, XP is best for me.  I'm running 3 different operating systems at home…  XP, Vista and Mac OSX - all on different PCs.  For basic daily things, I prefer XP. I know it like the back of my hand, and can pretty much fix anything that goes wrong with it.  OSX is a close second place, though. 

Web browsing:
Firefox 3 wins.  It's nice and works in any platform.  Although I don't think the Awesome Bar is that awesome, FF is rock solid and does the best job.  I hear Internet Explorer 8 should be good when it comes out, but for now the winner is Firefox.  Firefox's extensions make all the difference.  My must-have extensions are FireFTP, Foxmarks, and FlashBlock.  FireFTP installs a tiny FTP client into the browser.  No need for a third party FTP clients like Filezilla. Foxmarks syncs bookmarks to other installations of FF.  Flashblock keeps annoying Flash ads from launching and lets me choose what Flash components I want to see. 

Chat:
Digsby.  It's free and you can load all your different buddy lists (AIM, MSN, GMail, Yahoo, etc…) in it.  Plus you can add MySpace, Facebook and Twitter to it - if you're into that kinda thing - which I am.

EMail:
I use Gmail.  Gmail is awesome!  I used to use Outlook, or Thunderbird.  But I've found that Gmail works best for me because I use so many different computers.  It supports IMAP which allows me to sync my iPhone with my Gmail without a bunch of hassle.  For a web-based mail solution, Gmail has the least amount of annoying adds and works great. 

Music Recording:
Apple's Logic Express.  Sonar in Windows is great… but once you go Mac, you won't go back.  It's stable and easy to use. I hate being a PC tech when it's time to be creative. 

CD/DVD Burning:
In Windows I use Nero.  On the Mac I use Toast.  I like them equally.  They both do a great job.  However Toast in conjunction with Mac The Ripper is the best for copying DVDs.

Music/media manager:
Vista Media Center - winner!  Our Vista computer is our Media Center PC (running Vista Media Center).  All the music, pictures, TV, videos, etc… we have is managed using that.  VMC also allows third party plugins (like Firefox).  My faves are LifeXtender, which scans the recorded TV shows and removes the commercials.  And WebGuide 4, which lets me log into the Media Center remotely, stream music, TV (live and recorded), schedule recordings.. etc…  Nice!  I do like to use iTunes for things like tag editing, and I have to use it to sync to the iPhone - so I have to maintain a separate iTunes library for that.  Too bad I can't sync the phone with Vista Media Center…  oh well, I can't have everything. 

Image manipulation:
Photoshop does the best job for me.  GIMP works pretty well, too (and it's free)…  but I find PS easier to use. 

Money Management:
Budget Calender.  You can have your fancy Quicken, and MS Money…  this little app is the best.  I think paid we $15 for it.  It lets me plan out the bills for the month and tracks how much we're saving.  AND it's cross-platform (works best in Windows, though). 

Torrent client:
uTorrent.  It's a Windows only thing.  I can't find a good Mac alternative.  I hear Transmission is good, but it doesn't seem to work for me. 

Anyway…  I'm tired of assembling this list, so I'm going to stop.  If you have any great apps that you love, please share in the comments.  Now get back to work.