I'm on Windows XP and the default Windows Explorer lacks a few key features I would like.

I discovered XYplorer about a year ago and it's so feature-rich that I use it today. There's a 30-day free trial that's definitely worth checking out.

http://www.xyplorer.com/

I totally forgot about this program. I used it on my old old computer when it was like version 4.xx. The hard drive crapped out on that computer and when I moved to a different computer, I must have just forgot about it. From the looks of its website it appears as though the program has greatly improved, as well as becoming more expensive, I think I may have paid 10 dollars for it way back when. Wow. Great post.

Yeah the other good file manager is Total Commander, which is free. Basically anything is better than the default Windows Explorer on XP.
http://www.ghisler.com/