In OS 9.1, I have aliases of all my applications under the Apple Menu. This makes it very quick to launch my different apps. Is there a way to do something similar in MacOS X? Like could I have something in the Dock that when clicked, a list of my aplications come up to launch? Going to "Applications" under the system-wide menu just opens up my Applications folder, which is far from ideal. Any ideas of tricks or 3rd party programs would be much appreciated.
-Also, is what I'm asking about called a "dockling"?