I started with EQ7, and upgraded to EQ8. I absolutely love it! I find version 8 more intuitive to use, and have a lot of fun with it. That being said, it isn't cheap. They have a more basic version called EQ Mini, but it's still a bit spendy.
Do you have any friends or acquaintances that have it and would let you play for an hour or two? Try asking at a guild meeting or quilt shop.
I haven't seen many negative reviews; what do they dislike about it? Is it users like you that dislike it (consider experience level with quilt design and computer use, goals, etc). I looked up my toaster on Amazon a while ago, and was shocked at the bad ratings. When I read the reviews, though, the biggest complaint was that they didn't get consistent toasting from batch to batch when making a dozen slices of toast for a big family. I don't care about that because I live alone. For me it's amazing, so it just depends what your goals are.
There are a couple other quilt design programs out there, but none IMHO anywhere as powerful and versatile as EQ8. Hopefully someone else will chime in with some suggestions. Good luck!