BEST SEARCH ENGINES

GENERAL SEARCHING
My two favorite general searching sites are Google and All the Web.  
Google is one of the largest.  It's ranking of sites is based on the number of other pages that link to the searched page.  Advanced searching available.
http://www.google.com
AlltheWeb  In addition to listing the pages you searched for, it also displays on the screen other related topics you may want to explore . The search page makes it easy to look for sites in other languages.  Advanced searching available.
http://www.alltheweb.com/

SUBJECT DIRECTORIES
These are generally sites evaluated and chosen by people, rather than computer generated lists.  Two of my favorites are
Librarians Index to the Internet  This site is compiled by librarians who have reviewed and chosen high quality resources (as the site says "information you can trust").  It is updated weekly.
Yahoo!   It seems to have everything - one of the biggest subject directories available.  But "everything" does include a lot of advertising.  When choosing new sites they focus on organization - how and where the new site would fit in so that users can easily access the chosen sites.  http://www.yahoo.com/ 

SPECIALIZED DATABASES
Also known as "invisible web" because these sites are not found by general search engines.  The best way I've found to search for these is to first go to a general search site, such as google, and add the word "database" to your subject search.  But be forewarned, many of these databases are not actually available without purchase.

MULTIMEDIA
Lycos Multimedia  A very comprehensive site.  You can search for pictures, audio, MP3, and/or videos.  It allows an option for "search guard" to reduce the possibility of children seeing inappropriate material.  However, even given this option, this site is no longer available to MCPS students. The advertising can take up more space on the page than anything else.   http://multimedia.lycos.com/

Another great way to search for pictures and multimedia is to use advanced searches on a general search site.   Google and  Alta Vista , are both good for this.

 KIDS SEARCHING
These search engines have been specifically designed for children to use.  
KidsClick!    Compiled by librarians.  Subject or alphabetic or key word searches available.  Search tools are at the top of the page.   www.kidsclick.org
Yahooligans  A children's version of Yahoo!.  Fun stuff for kids as well as more "serious" homework type referrals.  Subject or keyword search available.  http://www.yahooligans.com/
Ask Jeeves Kids  Children often think in terms of questions rather than key words or subject areas.  This site allows them to search in this way.  The response will include the answer to the question and/or links to related sites and/or other search engines.  http://www.ajkids.com