Actually I'm not a fan of freeware because nobody is responsible for the damage it can provoke.But Videolan is an exception. It is very good and reliable player that can play absolutely everything. Maybe vlc has a little ugly design but it is not a big deal I think.
I totally disagree with your comments on freeware but this isn't the thread to argue my case why.
VLC although a little clunky is pretty good but I prefer MPlayer which is probably the best media player about. It supports a wide range of video types, is very stable and is really easy to use.