If you want to use bash, go to the source
Instead of just random code snippets in hacker news, just go to the terminal and write ``man bash`` or visit http://linux.die.net/man/1/bash .
You will learn a lot of useful features that even zsh, or fish doesn't have.
Bash is quite powerful but the default installation a plain shell.
Restricting shell use, rather than loading up with tricks and extensions, also has its charm.
I liked this presentation: http://shellhaters.heroku.com/