BEST SEARCH ENGINE SITE: Google

This terrific new tool, which began as a Stanford University research project, yields relevant results using a complex mathematical formula. All you need to know is that it works—and fast, thanks to a large collection of cached pages. And it's the only search engine with an "I'm feeling lucky" option, which takes you directly to the first Web page retrieved by your query; it's a real time-saver if you're seeking a small bit of information, such as the name of a person or company.

ALSO: For the most efficient searching on multiple engines simultaneously, we like Meta Crawler. We gave it four stars back in February, and it lives up to its rating with speedy utility and relevance of results.

by Rob Bernstein