FreeFileSync - saved my ass (on OSX but that's irrelevant) after I discovered that rsync is actually fucking GARBAGE and that syncing local folders via command line is a lost cause. It works so well that I decided to toss it a couple bucks, really saved me when I was backing up my HDDs 1:1 without resorting to some cloning tool that will inevitably give me problems.
Waifu2x-Caffe - CUDA-powered AI image upscaler, not as feature-rich as NMKD's Cupscale but it's literally plug and play and it won't ask you to give money to anyone's patreon and its UX was actually designed for humans.
Waifu2x-Vulkan - ditto from above but it uses the Vulkan API and is more compatible with AMD GPUs and non-Windows OSs
Virtual CloneDrive - freeware ISO mounting tool (doesn't work for programs that expect IDE drives such as old Roland utilities, use Daemon Tools instead if you need a virtual IDE drive)
InSpectre - Sorry glowies, you're not cucking me out of a single CPU cycle.
WinDynamicDesktop - port of OSX's dynamic (hour-based) wallpapers
JaxCore - Rainmeter-based collection of tools and widgets
Awave Studio - CDXtract on steroids and you won't feel disgusted with yourself for using it. Can create instruments for all kinds of expandable ROMplers such as Yamaha MOTIFs and the janky linux-based Korgs I just can't wrap my head around plus it can open and extract samples/instruments from ROMpler libraries like the MOTIF ones I posted.

PowerToys - Literally can't have this list without it!

BalenaEtcher for flashing Linux onto a USB so you can remove Windows
Jokes aside, I havent used windows in years so I don't actually remember a lot of the software i used to run, but I can recommend these:
Winutil - All-in-one utility for installing software and making various tweaks and adjustments. perfect for a fresh install.
> Open Powershell as administrator
> Run irm christitus.com/win | iex
Micrcosoft Activation Scripts - Paying an absurd license price for a proprietary OS by a spyware company sucks!
> Open Powershell as administrator
> Run irm https://massgrave.dev/get | iex
> Select 1 for HWID | Windows | Permanent
O&OShutup - Tool to disable many telemetry and spyware settings in Windows. Winutil has an option for running this.
youtube-dl-wpf - Frontend for youtube-dl/yt-dlp. You will need to download either of the downloaders, ffmpeg, then point the application to the paths to those executables.

Sandboxie-Plus - allows you to create virtually unlimited sandboxes and run them alone or simultaneously to isolate programs from the host and each other.
Mremoteng - mRemoteNG is a fork of mRemote: an open source, tabbed, multi-protocol, remote connections manager for Windows. mRemoteNG adds bug fixes and new features to mRemote and allows you to view all of your remote connections in a simple yet powerful tabbed interface
Ferdium - Ferdium is a fork of Franz It's an interesting software to log into all your accounts from one interface you can self host your own server or use theirs.

https://www.voidtools.com/en-us/ - Locate files and folders by name instantly.

https://www.revi.cc/ - ReviOS, modifies Windows using AME Wizard (https://ameliorated.io/) to get more performance and to remove spyware, backdoors, and telemetry.
Or just use Linux lol (I don't trust corpos with data and don't use anything from Big Tech)