i forward everything to a gmail account, it might seem like just another webmail at first sight, but when you start using it as your main one you can't go back.
I used to lose years of emails on HD crashes and corrupted databases on outlook, not anymore.
The search is in fact 100x faster than searching locally, and i get the same experience on my main pc and if i'm on another computer, the interface is so fast you don't miss a local client (something hard to say about other webmails)
the gmail notifier or now google talk is great too, and you don't have to enter your username and password every time you log in. (can be achieved with msn/hotmail but their interface/speed sucks major penis)
oh and the spam filter there actually works
force yourself to use it for say, a week and see if you like it better, i did(forward a pop mail there, you can go back if you don't like it)