Faster than cmd+Tab way for app switching? Is there a faster way to switch between currently-open applications on the Mac than using cmd+Tab/cmd+Shift+Tab?

I tend to have a lot of different apps open at a time and I have to keep switching between three-to-four of these apps all the time. And having to repeatedly hit cmd+tab,tab,tab seems like a waste of keystrokes. It would be nice if there was a faster way to achieve this application-switching.

This does not have to be built-in Mac functionality. I'd like to know about any app that does this job better.

PS: I'm running Mavericks
PPS: I'm looking for a keyboard shortcut and not a mouse-related solution.

Thanks! :)
This is a really old question but just thought I would add to it anyway!

I use apptivate.

Really simple toolbar app that can open/switch to almost anything with custom keyboard shortcuts.