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Decide if you can handle the maintainance of wood handles, or the convenience of plastic/other handles first.
Stay away from knives that are "self-sharpening" or claim to be made from extra hard steel or cold-hardened. Basicly anything that claims to have a extra long lasting edge is going to be very difficult to sharpen when it does go dull, and proper sharpening is an art unto its' self. Ceramic blades are expensive, brittle, and nearly impossible to sharpen once they dull.
The best knives are made from softer steel like good old carbon steel. They dull quicker, but they can be kept sharp with a few passes of a sharpening steel. Those steels don't truly sharpen but that's another subject.
I use Chicago Cutlery. The wood handles are a pain in the ass to keep in good condition, and if you aren't carefull to keep them out of the sink the blades may even rust. However, they are razor sharp and a few passes over a steel before every use keeps them that way.
I'm not saying that's the brand you should buy, it's just an example. Most people want bright shiny stainless steel with super hard steel because that sounds like a good thing, and most of the big companies cater to that. It just isn't really the best thing to buy in the long run, and it's more expensive to boot.
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