I only became a 360 owner one year ago (can't believe it has been that long actually!) without ever having really played one before or having ever played the original Xbox, and was extremely impressed with the controller. I have always felt the PS2 controller was a very good controller, and I have also often considered the 64 controller to be one of the greatest inventions since the wheel. That said, I think the 360 controller makes both of then feel like absolute crap.

Errr... but yeah... then there is that d-pad... oh MS, you come so close to greatness sometimes, but you always seem hell bent on screwing it up...

That said, I have never cared much for Sony's d-pad either. I still think Nintendo's pre-Wii/DS d-pads were the ideal design.