Like them or not, the RJ's are the wave of the future. I find the CRJ's to be pretty much the same as flying on the larger jets. They're relatively quiet, comfortable airplanes. The ERJ's (affectionately referred to as "jungle jets" because they're made in Brazil), on the other hand, tend to be noisier and not overly comfortable to fly in. However, both have excellent safety records. I will certainly agree that the turboprops aren't the most pleasant aircraft to fly in, although the newer Dash 8's aren't bad; they're actually pretty quiet compared to some of the others out there.
The other thing to keep in mind, the regional airlines are really the only segment of the aviation industry that's seeing significant growth these days. They're actually buying planes (or in some cases brining planes out of storage that they had put away after 9/11) and, even more so, hiring pilots in very large numbers. The major airlines are starting to see some growth again(including some bringing furloughed pilots back), and I think they're definitely headed in the right direction, but the regionals have already established an expanded, and what I think will be a very permament role in air transit in this economy.