Having a proper knife set is a crucial component to having a good kitchen.  Some people buy knives at a big box retailer or try to get by on pairing knives alone, which is a big mistake.  Those people also tend to be bachelors, so I suppose that goes without saying.

Personally, I recommend going to a kitchen store or website and looking through their chef knife sets that come in a knife block. You can find something excellent at such a resource and get set that will cut your food cleanly and with ease. There are some great websites that are worth your time; after all, you want to have a complete kitchen, right?