How to get the Classic Start Menu in Windows 7?

The HowToGeek has an elegant solution here on how this can be done.

The functionality has been removed in Windows 7, most likely because of the new TaskBar among other reasons, and most people using Vista extensively have gotten used to using Search to find applications rather then navigating a huge amount of menu's.

The solution requires you to download an application called CSMenu which simulates the Classic Menu, and is free. To completely replace the Windows 7 Menu you will also need to download StartKiller which will remove the start button and allow you to use CSMenu instead.

The free Classic Shell does a classic start menu for Windows 7.