After reading Google Watch, I wondered what the best search engine was these days.
I switched to Google a while back after using MetaCrawler, Raging Search, AlltheWeb and WiseNut, and I wanted to compare their efficiency.
I have actually been impressed by AltaVista's search tools, but having done a few searches, I have discovered that what really makes Google better (for now, at least) is that their database of Web resources seems much more recent and complete than all the others.
Regardless of their efficiency, How to Choose a Search Engine or Directory lists search engines by category.