Compiz 0.8.x has some very cool plugins which are marked as "experimental" and thus are not available in the Ubuntu repositories. Johnnyg posted instructions about installing these plugins @ Gnome Look - I gave it a try and everything seems to be working (though I've only tested 3-4 plugins so far).

Among the experimental plugins are: Static Windows, Anaglyph, Animatons Plus, the famous Cube 3D Models, Cube Snow Globe, Cube Atlantis, Photowheel, Wizard, Window Previews (not the KDE Plasma thumbnails!), Workspace Naming, Toggle Decoration, Put Plus, Snap Windows and more.