A buddy of mine had max access Craftsman sockets and they're really nice for some things, but I wouldn't have them as my only socket set. Craftsman makes a really nice mechanics toolbox, that's what I started with and it has pretty much everything you'll need for basic maintenance. When you run into a job that the Craftsman mechanic set won't cover you for then I'd go buy the more specialty sets like the max access and ratcheting wrenches and all that fancy stuff. They're nice but I wouldn't own just those.
EDIT: Here's the link for what I have
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-230-p...1&blockType=G1