I got this running on a spare laptop (Dell Inspiron E1505) and so far pretty impressed. None of the issues I had when Vista was running on it. Vista for one was always locking up on this machine for no reason. I had no added software on it, just a few games that are self-contained; only use Direct X 9c.
Since installing Windows 7 (installed it the same day it was released) no issues what so ever. I did do a clean install.
As for running it in a VM, I think VMs are nice, but you really do not get to see all the features available. Just get a Knoppix live CD and boot any PC with it, then boot a VM with it, you will see the difference right away, and it is a totally different user experience.
I agree, I do not like the new task bar so far, but am getting used to it. I prefer the Classic theme/task bar/start menus myself.