In case anyone is wondering, I have decided to go with SIB (StartIsBack) in the end and I am extremely satisfied with my choice. My experience has been better than with Classic Shell that had a noticeable opening lag. SIB comes as just the start menu as we have known from Windows 7, without the gimmick. This has made SIB the obvious choice for me. Unfortunately, I am unable to speak for all of the alternatives besides SIB and Classic Shell, but I am sure SIB is one of if not the best of the start menu solutions out there. I do not regret my purchase and probably will not anytime soon.