Hm, were you on the default drivers the OS assigned? how old is the hardware?

I don't have a separate audio card, I'm using the audio built into the motherboard but I've had no issues since running the Consumer Preview version of Windows 8 on a motherboard from 2008-ish.

Also, you can get a program that mimics the start menu, there are several out there.

I cussed up a storm when I saw windows 8 Developer preview and when it first came out in February as a Consumer Preview version but I still use it. I've gotten used to it quite a bit. I managed to find a way to get my taskbar to be a solid black color while the windows are white so that ended one of the biggest issues I had.

I also don't reboot my PC, I got about 8 icons pinned to my task bar and I've realized several times I've gone almost 2 weeks without seeing the Metro/tile interface. My most used tiles are pinned on the most left on the screen and in some respects it's real fast launching something off the Start screen. The only thing I find stupid is when you're in desktop mode how you have to use the hot corners.

There will be an update in 6 months, codename 'Blue' coming out mid 2013 that will address lots of other issues and might carry quite a bit of changes/improvements to the OS. Especially now that Synofsky is no longer there.