1) What is the easiest way to exchange BTC for XRP? I've tried Bitstamp but their fees are quite high.
2) Does anyone know where to find good XRP/BTC charts? Ripplecharts and bitcoincharts are pretty lousy, imo.
1) That would be likely on Ripple itself. To get BTC on there, one of the easiest ways is DividendRippler, as they require no AML stuff. If you are already using Bitstamp, you can just withdraw BTC to your Ripple address once you set up a trust line.
2) What do you need the charts for? A general overview is possible with the 2 you mentioned, something like bitcoinwisdom for watching more of a live ticker is yet to emerge though.