Best home mechanic tool kit...

I found that I was better served by not buying a tool kit.  I bought a set of allen wrenches, a few screwdrivers, wire cutters, a cresent wrench, and a torque wrench.  You can probably do the large majority of maintanence with those tools alone.  Then I just bought tools along the way as I needed them.  If you are not ready to tackle the job of switching out your bb why purchase the wrench, same goes for cassette removal and the like.  Start off small and just build up.  Don't have the tool just to have them, just have the tools you need.

Along the way I have added pedal wrench, bb wrench, chainwhip, chain break and a variety of others...but not until I needed them. 

This is sort of my goal for this year as well.  I did what the above poster said and bought the "tool" version of everything on my saddle multi-tool.  I am definitely in need of a torque wrench though.  If anyone has a recommendation, I would love to hear it.

Ive been looking at tool kits as well.  I like the Park Tool ak-37 tool kit. You can get it for around $200 or so.  You can buy cheaper sets but I hate buying cheap tools and they dont work right.

The Park set is a good deal when you price out what it would cost you to buy those tools separately.

torque wrench- buy a craftsman, lifetime warranty.  You could go Snap on or Matco but that is way overkill and pricey.

That's if you use every tool that they have in that kit.  I guess than I'm just on the other side of the coin because I wouldn't spend 200 bucks on those simple tools unless I was a bike mechanic.  You could probably do most of the same jobs with the tools that I mentioned previously.

Alright... let me ask a different question... I have all the basic tools as I am somewhat of a auto gearhead... what specific basic bike tools should I have on hand for routine type of stuff that I will need when I go to work on my bike... specifically those one of kind bike tools...

Cassette removal lock ring, bottom bracket wrench, and a chainwhip.  I assume that you already have a torque wrench from being a auto gearhead.

I'm in the same boat. I have valve spring compressors, piston ring filers, Impact wrenches, every socket known to man, and a slew of wrenches and everything in between. But I dont have a BB tool, a spoke wrench, chain whip, cassette tool, chain breaker, crank puller or any of that stuff.

Several yrs ago I got a cheap 'starter' bike tool set similar to this:
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1030354_-1_1549000_20000_400036
It was a minor mistake.  Some tools were OK (chain whip, crank puller, hex wrenches), while others were so bad they failed on 1st use or 2 (cone wrenches, screwdrivers)

I would start with a good bike repair book, like Zinn's

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RNOMLQ/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1884737994&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1GFZ67MMR9352PBAZSNW

Park Tool makes solid bike tools, and their web site (www.parktool.com) has many useful illustrated repair articles.

Personally I would just buy some basic good quality tools (hex, cone wrenches, chain whip, chain tool, spoke wrench, etc.), then add more as needed.  Also not a bad idea to have a few spare parts on hand for emergencies (chain, cables, housings, brake pads, etc.).  And don't feel you must do everything.  I enjoy wrenching & even done a few strip-to-frame rebuilds.  But there are still some jobs I gladly take to LBS.

I've got a ton of generic tools that do many of the jobs, but purchased a nice entry level Spin Doctor kit for $50 from Performance so I could have bicycle specific tools. I've used almost every tool in it and consider it a great p[purchase. Picked up a stand too. A stand of some kind is a must have. Beats the hell out of working on the floor/ground.