It has been awhile since I've leveled a druid (version 1.x days), but I felt the same thing. I don't think I felt powerful until I got a couple of good pieces of leather from molten core (and some pieces of cloth). It always seemed like whatever armor /spec I lacked was the specific role being called for.
After awhile I gave up and switched over to a mage and a warlock.
On the plus side, you don't have to worry about your group complaining when you roll on any piece of gear.