The best replacement for apt-get is aptitude.

The best alternatives to apt-get are rated as following:
★★★★★  aptitude
★★★★★  yum
★★★  dpkg
★★★  pacman
★★  pip
★★  wget
★★  zypper
★  homebrew
★  apt
★  opkg
★  synaptic
★  aptitude ubuntu
★  easy_install

Your alternative for apt-get is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about apt-get, one probably shouldn't forget about dependencies.

Other search terms related to apt-get and their ratings are:
★★★★★ dependencies
★★ install
★ specific version
You have in mind a companion for apt-get and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of apt-get in all years. Click on graph for more.
apt-get
aptitude
yum