Man, I'm just a redneck guy...so I didn't know any better and went out and spent too much money on some stainless steel shit, without the non-stick coating. What a waste!
Since I got burned, I tend to go for quantity over quality now.
I try to have something on hand for whatever I feel like making, and it has to have lids and be non-stick. But I don't care too much about the name.
I also just like to have lots of knives. Is that a bad thing?