No, not really. Go with 8 though, it uses less resources and has much better support for SSD's if you have or are going to get one in the future. Most of the haters are just complaining about the Metro part which you don't even need to use. Think of it as Windows 7, but using less resources (E.g. RAM etc). Some people also complain that there is no start button. This can be overcome by downloading some third party software. Not an ideal solution but it works flawlessly. The start button may even be a non issue on Windows 8.1 release....not sure as there have been different reports suggesting that there will / won't be a start button. With Windows 8.1 there will be an option to boot straight to desktop, so you won't even have to look at Metro ever again if you don't want to (Most of the third party software for the start menu already offer this option anyway).
It's up to you at the end of the day, but both Windows 7 and 8 are good. You can't really go wrong with either if you prefer to use Windows OS. Some people just like to moan about things, and look back on older OS with rose tinted glasses. For example, dealing with drivers was a nightmare with Windows XP. Windows 7 and 8 make life a lot easier regarding drivers as they automatically find many of them. Windows XP was good on resources, but many people are comparing it to Vista when they say this. Vista was well known to be a fucking travesty.
Anyway, rant over. Enjoy whichever you decide to go with.