I'll throw in a big +1 for bar end shifters. I won't argue they're better than brifters, but they're my favorite vintage option. I went from friction thumbies on mountain bikes, to friction barcons on a touring bike, to now maybe a 50/50 mix of bar end shifters and downtube shifters. The downtube shifters certainly had a learning curve, but I'm pretty comfortable with them now. I have used brifters occasionally when borrowing my wife's bike. They're nice, but I wouldn't call them revolutionary. They certainly make frequent shifting easier, but most of my bikes are 5 and 6 speed in back, so I don't shift nearly as often as some of my racer buddies on modern bikes. (I probably won't be winning this year's tour, but I can't really blame that on the shifters.)
Among bar end shifters, my favorites are the ubiquitous Suntour ratcheting "Barcons". The first generation Shimano Dura Ace bar ends are a close second though. They use a spring to balance out the derailleur tension, so if you get it set just right, they're very light action. The downside is the tension changes over their range, so you have to balance where in their sweep you set them, otherwise they slip at the top end, or take too much friction to hold. Also, they pull a lot of cable. Shifting across the entire freewheel probably only takes 20-30 degrees of lever motion. Great for a 5 or 6 speed, but probably not what you want when the cogs get tighter than that.