On the left hand side, there is a list of your accounts. Under each account name, there are your folders... Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items, etc. Your predisposed dislike of Windows 7 is clouding your judgement. Everything is where it's supposed to be... you're just not accustomed to the look of WLM.
Also, there are many alternatives to Windows Live Mail. If you have Office, you can use Outlook. There is also Thunderbird, Incredimail, etc... your by no means obligated to use WLM. If your mail provider or ISP supports it, you could also do as Detaill suggests and access your mail through your web browser. Windows is Windows... it's not drastically different... it's all cosmetics.