Hi bassfishser,
You can read up on the features of Windows Live Mail (WLM) here:
Windows Live Mail
The main differences is it supports Pop3, IMAP, HTTP website (EX: Hotmail) email, and is a lot more stable. Plus, WLM will minimize to a tray bar icon and has a separate Inbox for each email account. WLM will automatically import Windows Mail messages, accounts, and settings into it. Contacts will have to be manually imported from within WLM. (Tools, Contacts, File, Import, Address book for current Windows User.) To see the Menu bar, press ALT+M and check "Show all menus".
It will not hurt anything to install it. I would give it a try and see a how you like it. You can use it instead of Windows Mail or use both of them. If you do not like WLM, you can always just uninstall it.
Hope this helps,
Shawn