Can you give a bit more information about what you like to cook and how you cook? Do you do a lot of searing, braising, sauteing etc?

In general, I don't recommend getting a set of cookware. I think any cook, home or otherwise, is best served buying individual pieces based on their needs and wants.

As far as non-stick pans go, you can expect their surfaces to wear over time.

If you would like SS pieces, the most important thing to me is a heavy bottom which conducts heat evenly and helps prevent burning. The pieces should feel solid.

I highly recommend All-Clad.

I agree that you are often better served by buying different items and combining them with other best of class items. However, a small starter set of five pieces, supplemented with open stock, can be a best of both worlds (as sets are often at a good promotional price). Another factor is budget.

If you want stainless and budget is no object, I recommend Demeyere Atlantis or Industry/5Plus over All Clad. It's thicker, has a special surface treatment that helps cleanup (still stainless, but just cleans up easier), and is made with no rivets, so cleanup inside is easier. Because they are thicker overall, they are more even but heavier. The ProLine fry pans are 4.8mm thick versus the 2.6mm of an All Clad pan. The Atlantis saucepans and saute pans have a 2 mm copper core plus aluminum in the base, while the Industry or 5Plus lines are fully clad with 3 mm sides.

I do everything, searing, sautéing, braising, you name it. I guess I always thought to start with a large set from a price perspective, but can see the value in a small set complimented different pieces on an as need basis. Thanks for recommending Demeyere and Industry, cleaning the rivets would be annoying, and a quicker clean up is always best.

I'm guessing the copper core and aluminum base are superior to full clad?

I read that the All Clad handles don't get hot while stove top cooking. Have you found this?

My copper All-Clad pot handles don't get hot, but those are long handles. The stock pot's stubby handles do get hot.

Do consider a good heavy braiser. There are the brasing stalwarts, such as Le Creuset, Lodge and Staub, as well as more economically priced brands. You can read many threads on them here.

To me, a good braiser (or two or three!) is a staple.

Another staple is a cast iron pan.

Also adding- my Calphalon braiser has been essential in my kitchen. This is my "go-to" pot for many things, including one-pot meals such as casseroles.

@dbmalone -- the Demeyere Atlantis line is a mix of copper/aluminum/ss base pots (mainly sauce pots, saute pans, and stockpots) and fully clad pans (mainly the Proline fry pans and the sauteuse/saucier shapes). Their Industry (sold at Sur La Table) or 5Plus (sold at Williams Sonoma, but only online) are their fully clad lines. The copper core gives you much of the superior performance of copper (responsiveness to heat changes and evenness) without the maintenance of polishing. All-Clad also makes a fully clad Copper Core line (as do a few others), but the copper is much thinner and the performance is not as good. I have Demeyere Atlantis and Industry, and some All Clad Copper Core.

Many people prefer a fully clad pot. I like fully clad pots for thick items like stews and ragus and for saucier shapes like making a custard (I use thick copper for this). Thus they choose one of the All Clad lines, the Demeyere Industry or 5Plus, or some less expensive alternatives like the Cuisinart French Classic (made in France) or Calphalon Multi-Clad Pro (made in Asia).

I do like a classic enameled cast iron dutch oven, like a Le Creuset or Staub, both made in France. Many people also like their Lodge although only the bare cast iron ones are made in the USA.

My All Clad SS pans go in the DW and the handles do not get hot. I did find instead of go from the top of handle to lift go from under the handle.

i like my Cuisinart stainless steel pots and pans, and my Le Creuset pieces. Can't use anything non-stick -- it can kill parrots, and Joey is too special to me to risk it.

Bummer... The Zwilling Sensation cookware set is out of stock :-(

The set is gone, but they still have individual sauce pans and saute and fry pans left.

Yes... But I am looking to save some money... The set was a bargain!!!

A bargain, yes, but not by much assuming you really needed the exact same pieces as the set. If you wanted some of the alternative pieces instead, it would have cost extra. This way you may pick and choose.

I just added the same individual pieces in the set without the (1) stock pot and they are $560. That leaves $140 left for the 5.5 qt. dutch oven - which in my estimation is more practical to have in fully clad than a stock pot, costing you $60 more than the set price , or the large 4 qt. sauce pan for $10 extra.

I would probably skip the 9.5" frying pan as well, saving another $90 and apply it towards either the dutch oven or largest sauce pan. It's not so grim an outcome!

Great point!!! ;-) I will revisit this!!! Do you know if I can see these in person at SLT or William Sonoma? I would like to feel the handles... I really dislike the All-clad handles. Not crazy about Mauviel or Demeyre handles either... I actually liked the feel of the SLT handles the most.

The Zwilling set isn't stocked at SLT or WS. Demeyere makes several different handles that go on the SLT Industry 5, the WS 5Plus, the Industry, the Atlantis, and the discontinued Zwilling Sensation. (Some of these may overlap but the differences are pretty broad across the full range) I don't like the traditional AC handle, either.

The Zwilling/DeMeyere set is back on sale in the link from alexrander !

If you're still looking, OP, the best stuff from Paderno is extremely good, and comes on sale fairly regularly. Go for their Canadian-made. www.paderno.com horrible website, but they're super helpful on the phone.

Rather than buying the entire set, only get those pans you use the most. The sets often contain pans you'll never use.

Other than a few old kettles and my iron frying pans, I consider the coated frying pans as disposables. No matter how much I spend, they all eventually get scratched or the finish becomes damaged from use.

So I frequent the Home Stores and occasionally find a good quality, heavy nonstick frying pan in a size I always use and purchase these piecemeal.

I ended up getting theZwilling sensation set on sale- I think it was $499! What a great deal for a fantastic set. Since I was starting from scratch, I found that I use each and every piece. Make sure to check the website (link above) often... they have all kinds of promos. I also scored a great deal on a Staub dutch oven on their website.

Glad it worked out for you and thanks for reporting back! They had an extra 20% sale this past weekend -- you are probably now on their email list. Good deals on all their lines. That set is well suited as a starter set -- pretty much every key piece.