I'm not a purist when it comes to tools (some people are BUY ONLY THE BEST, MOST EXPENSIVE TOOLS AND YOU WILL NEVER REGRET IT, but I'm pretty cheap, and don't want to spend a lot of $$ on a tool I'll only use a few times in my life). I bought the Nashbar Essential tool kit, and I'm happy with the purchase. Most of the tools I've used only a few times (some of them I haven't gotten to yet), and they've been fine. I must say I have ruined the pedal wrench, so now I know I need a good pedal wrench, so I'll be buying a Park at some point. One nicety I really enjoy from this kit is that the set of allen wrenches are (a) extra long, and (b) the long ends have a kind of ball shape that makes for extra-easy insertion (you don't have to feel around to match up the hex-sides exactly, it guides you in). So you use the short end with a long lever arm for initial loosening or final tightening, but when the bolt is loose, it's really easy to slip the long end in and just spin the revs.

I second the recommendation on a good cable cutter. Nothing more annoying than a cable that is not cut cleanly if you're trying to thread it through some housing. It might be overkill, but I kind of wish I had a soldering gun so I could seal a freshly-cut cable with a bead of metal.

Also, Pedro's Tire Levers. Best value at my LBS at $3.99/pr. Much better design than your average levers (I have broken two though...)

Pin Spanner? I'm looking at replacing bottom-bracket ball bearings on my wife's 80's non-cartridge BB road bike, and it looks like I'll need a pin spanner after I get the lockring off. Not sure if there's any good way to McGuyver that without a pin spanner -- pair of small allen wrenches?