Paul9000, if I can offer some constructive comments...
Most posts I've seen so far echo my own impression: that you are attempting to compare two very distinct abilities instead of looking at the whole picture, and therefore feel that your choice of class is underpowered.
I feel that you have already made up your mind about the comparison between high-level wildshape and shapechange. Frankly, I find this futile, as mentioned above and in other posts.
If what's important to you is to have the power of shapechange, then I would respectfully suggest that you play a wizard or sorcerer. Otherwise, the druid has some very respectable abilities not available to other classes, and perhaps you should take those into consideration before feeling shortchanged.
Andargor