Sometimes what I do with barre chords is not play the lowest note, as far as I can tell this works pretty good. Some barring is still used on the high 2 strings but its a lot easier. Or you could use the thumb for low string.
Example using A.

Typical
E 5 1st...
B 5 1st...
G 6 2nd...
D 7 4th...
A 7 3rd...
E 5 1st...

Easier
E 5 1st
B 5 1st
G 6 2nd
D 7 4th
A 7 3rd
E x (or play 5th fret with thumb)


[Edited by Slasher on 10-28-2003 at 05:08 AM]