The best search engines out there:

Search engines that "Think":

Invisible Web Directories:

Public Records:

http://access.edgar-online.com
From the Edgar Database you can retrieve SEC filings (including 10K's, 10Q's, Annual Reports and Prospectuses) for approximately 3,500 U.S. public corporations.

http://www.publicrecordfinder.com
This Search Engine is dedicated to locating World-wide Public Records.

http://www.searchsystems.net
The first and continues to be the largest collection of free public records on the internet. (formerly pac-info)

http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
The SEC requires all public companies to file registration statements, periodic reports, and other forms electronically through Edgar. Anyone can access and download this information for free.

http://www.brbpub.com/pubrecsites.asp
Search over 650 state, county, city and federal (court) URL's where you can access public record information free.n

Professional Licenses:

http://www.op.nysed.gov
New York State website to verify and archive licensure and professional disciplinary actions.

http://www.op.nysed.gov/opsearches.htm
This is the web page to do a search for a name search by type of profession.

http://www.dos.state.ny.us
New York State Department of State site to search for licensees and registrants and other records.

http://www.statelocalgov.net/state-ny.htm
State and Local Government on the Net is a frequently updated directory of links to government sponsored and controlled resources on the Internet. Free Site Name search.

http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/consumer/vr.htm
Vital Records search information site.

Criminal Records:

http://www.op.nysed.gov
NYS site to Verify and archive licensure and professional disciplinary actions.

http://www.courts.state.ny.us
NYS Unified Court System.

http://207.29.128.48/webcrim/jcaptcha
NYS Unified Court System webcrims case information system allows you to search by defendant name.

http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov
Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is an electronic public access service that allows users to obtain case and docket information from Federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, and from the U.S. Party/Case Index.

http://www.bop.gov
Federal Bureau of Prisons can be searched by Name or Identification number. This is a nationwide search.

http://www.sexoffender.com/search.htm
Search for sex offender by state.

Vital Statistics - Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Records:

http://www.vitalchek.com/
Provides users which US states provide information, down to the city level. You may order documents on the website.

http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/consumer/vr.htm
Vital Records search information site for New York State.

http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/vital/ssdi/main.htm
Search over a million names in the Social Security Death Index at Ancestry.com, the most up-to-date SSDI on the Internet.

http://www.usbluepages.gov/
Federal Government Blue Pages Listings website has new and improved search criteria and provides an easy and fast way to search your listings by state, city, area code, agency or service, and keyword.

http://www.divorcerecordsusa.com/state/dusa_new_york.html
They provide an actual copy of a divorce decree or an annulment. Order online.

http://marriagedatabase.com/newyork/marriage-records.htm
New York State website for marriage records.

http://www.weddingchannel.com/
Search for weddings by name and state.

http://www.wa-wd.com/
Who’s Alive and Who’s Dead by categories including recent deaths, new listings, performers, politicians, athletes and more.

Real and Personal Property Records:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/acrislinks.html
ACRIS is the abbreviation for Automated City Register Information System operated by the NYC Department of Tax and Finance.

http://webapps.nyc.gov:8084/CICS/fin1/find001I
Search NYC properties by address.

http://nycserv.nyc.gov/nycproperty/nynav/jsp/selectbbl.jsp
Search NYC properties by borough and/or block.

http://www.uspdr.com/Consumer/OwnerSearch.asp
The most comprehensive non- government source for real estate data in New York. Search by owner name, street name, property sales, block and lot and sales types.

http://www.investopedia.com An encyclopedia of investment terms and much more.

http://www.investorglossary.com/ Investor Glossary is loaded with helpful investment information and updated frequently.

http://www.orderannualreports.com/ The Annual Reports Service is a Free Service provided by PrecisionIR. It provides you with quick access to annual reports and other information on select companies.

http://www.orderfundinfo.com/asp/A604_search_ENG.aspThe Fund Info Service provides you with quick access to prospectuses and other information on select funds for free from PrecisionIR. Search by alpha, fund family or investment objective.

http://www.fakechecks.org/ National Consumers League, is a central source of information and advice about fake check scams.

http://www.finra.org/ The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is the largest non-governmental securities regulator for all US securities firms

http://www.sipc.org/The Securities Investor Protection Corporation helps to restore funds to investors with assets in the hands of bankrupt and otherwise financially troubled brokerage firms.

http://www.fdic.gov/ Check the Bank Find function on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s home page to make sure your bank is actually insured.

http://www.stocktransfer.com/index.cfm?action=companies.directories.escheat Escheatment offices by state from stock transfer which is also used as a vehicle to educate shareholders about their investments and give them access to services and professionals who can assist them.

http://www.unclaimed.org/ National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators provides a free national search to reunite you with your unclaimed property maintained by the state officials who are safeguarding it.

http://www.bloomberg.com/ Bloomberg

http://online.barrons.com/ Barrons

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/ Fortune

http://money.cnn.com/ Money

http://www.crains.com/ Crains

http://www.smartmoney.com/ Smart Money

http://www.kiplinger.com/ Kiplinger's

http://www.ft.com/home/us Financial Times

http://www.investors.com/ Investors Business Daily

http://www.portfolio.com/ Portfolio

http://www.traderdaily.com/ Trader Daily

http://online.wsj.com/public/us Wall Street Journal

http://www.businessweek.com/ Business Week

http://financialweek.com Financial Week

http://www.investmentnews.com Investment News

When in doubt, check it out:

http://www.behindthename.com The etymology and history of first names.

http://www.crawl.com Allows researchers to view site preview and site statistics with adjustable view.

http://www.snapdata.com An international market research toolb

http://www.switchboard.com Another search directory.

http://www.findology.com A new class of search directory.

http://www.payscale.com Get accurate, real time salary reports based on your job title, location, education, skills and experience.

http://www.salary.com Salary Wizard and other salary evaluation tools.

Other Useful Links:

http://www.archive.org
The Wayback Machine - find out was was on the internet that's no longer there.

http://www.guidestar.org/
Search for charitable nonprofit organizations.

http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html
Choose the best search strategies for your information needs.

http://clusty.com
Uncover related sites by choosing a related cluster.

http://www.zoominfo.com/
The search engine for discovering people, companies and relationships.

http://www.ziggs.com
Search for professionals from an index of over 95,000 companies.

http://www.purevideo.com/
Find videos by name - extensive video directories range from medical videos to celebrity videos.

http://images.info.com/
Find images and photos.The smartest image search on the Web.

https://www.stolenidsearch.com/
Identity Theft...If a positive match is found, you'll receive detailed instructions on what you can do to protect yourself.

http://www.google.com/help/features.html#number
Google search-by-number - search for serial numbers!

http://toolbar.google.com
The Google Toolbar - Get it, Use it, Love it!