Best app launcher: Launchy

The Start menu has been much-maligned since the transition to Windows 8 and 10. Perhaps this is an issue of personal taste or nostalgia, or perhaps Microsoft's renovations really were that poor – we'll leave that up to you to decide.
While Launchy doesn't directly replace said menu (try the excellent Classic Shell for a Windows 7-style experience) it does show that there's a better way of doing things. A quicker way to get your apps launched, without using the mouse at all.
Just hit Alt+Spacebar to pop Launchy up, and start typing to find your chosen app. But it doesn't just run programs – Launchy knows where your files are so you can type part of a filename to start it, or even start typing a directory name to automatically open an Explorer window at that location. Windows' own search facility replicates many of these features, but we reckon Launchy does it a lot better and far less intrusively.