Keyboard shortcuts rock!
Triple button combination: Option+Command+Spacebar Opens a new finder... or keep pressing for multiple finders.
Spotlight on the Mac (and therefore one of the quickest ways to find just about any file or program) is just Command+SPacebar.
WindowsKey+E does the same on PC for a new Explorer window and with Vista/Win7, just hit the Windows key and you're right in the search box and ready to go.
Using Windows 7 and Snow Leopard back to back on a daily basis, I cringe at how cludgy Mac's finder interface is, double cringe at how so many mac user's don't know the shortcuts that ease the cludginess, and then tripple cringe when mac users think everything on a Mac is better than PC. Sorry, they both have dark sides to their personality. Finder is not exactly one's of Mac's brightest moments.