My own opinion, being more knowledgeable about Python's import than I wish I was, I feel like Node.js's require() system is what I wish Python's system was – some of the same simplicity of Python, e.g., with externally-defined names (not a name embedded into the source itself), but with a much more comprehensible and less magical loader.
Working in both python and nodejs day to day, I'm thinking the same thing. npm, coupled with nodejs's import mechanism, makes things so much simpler and it's because it goes a long way to eliminates globals. Developing node modules is a pleasure. Python is a headache.
