Commanders! The first thing I install on literally any computer I touch. It's like climbing on the top of the hill (or mountain!) and overlooking the dense foliage. I really don't establish a mental connection with the machine until I have a commander running. Doing any disk operations in the Explorer, whatever else drag-and-drop there is, or just plain shell, is just pathetically painful and slow.
Also, shout out to DOS Navigator! I used Norton Commander until 386DX-40, but then switched to the Navigator. Still remember I saw it first time in a shop where I was buying pirated games. The dude in the shop with the long hair was copying files and it looked uber-cool for some reason. I had to ask what was the name of this wonderful utility. He silently showed me the About dialog without turning back. There was no way back to NC from that point on my high-tower Pentium-133.
Also, shout out to DOS Navigator! I used Norton Commander until 386DX-40, but then switched to the Navigator. Still remember I saw it first time in a shop where I was buying pirated games. The dude in the shop with the long hair was copying files and it looked uber-cool for some reason. I had to ask what was the name of this wonderful utility. He silently showed me the About dialog without turning back. There was no way back to NC from that point on my high-tower Pentium-133.