^ +1 i agree , not anymore, times HAVE changed ! in fact i shifted from gmail to live.
another thing i forgot to mention is that if you don't find an id to your liking, you can always request them HERE to make one for you. Microsoft has promised to try their best to please you! What more can one ask for really !?
Incidentally, there is another Live service, Windows Live Custom Domains which lets you easily create custom Windows Live accounts in your domain that work with Windows Live and MSN services, for Free!