Is there a PC-equivalent of "A Better Finder Rename"?

yep. there is better file rename for windows Or you could also try RenameMan or for a manual yet fast way of renaming files, you might want to check out this article

Quick File Rename Personal Edition is another one. haven’t used it, but it is out there.

Try Renamer Very handy for renaming large groups of music or photo (or any) files.

Thanks Steel’! For everyone else, here is the jist on Renamer.

Freeware – http://www.snapfiles.com/get/denrenamer.html

ReNamer is a small, yet very flexible file and folder renamer, that offers all the standard renaming procedures, including prefixes, suffixes, replacements, case changes as well as advanced options and support for Unicode file names. In addition, it can also remove brackets, add number sequences, remove digits or symbols and change file extensions. The program allows you to combine multiple renaming actions as a rule set, applying each action in logical sequence. Renamer supports 60 different meta fields, including EXIF, ID3 and others, that can be used as part of the new file name. Advanced users can use PascalScript to program their own renaming rules.

Freeware