I've got a couple of Shun, which have gained a lot of popularity of late.
The defacto German steel is from Wustof and Henckel, and that competes against the Japanese steel of Global, KAI and Hattori (among others). Then you have the ceramic knives from Kyocera. All are excellent quality and will be generational items if treated correctly. You can find them on sell at your higher end kitchen supply stores all the time.
If you buy the Cutco shit, you are a ****ing noob and your wife should stab you in the heart with one because you failed her as a husband.
If you want a really good set of knives and don't want to pay out the ass, I'd recommend the KAI Pure Komachi 2 block set. It's cool in terms of the color and look, and it's pretty darn good steel. As well, they have all the right knives in the block set. (IMO, it's the best block knife set available in terms of knife blade variety.) It's got some funky colors that might not be up your alley, but the variety is outstanding. (Try getting a good tomato knife in any other block set.) And it usually sells for less than $100 for the set.
http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/st...ml?s=KSABS0900