yeah home basic has no aero, which is the main appeal of vista
home premium is good, its about on a par with XP MCE in terms of features
business is a must if you:
a) want to upgrade from xp pro
b) are on a corporate network so need domain support etc...
but business doesnt have the media centre stuff and no solitare!
ultimate isnt worth it unless you really need media centre and domain support together
vista x64 is good. A hell of a lot better than xp x64
with premium, i think you have to send away (fere i think) to get the x64 disc