Sorry for the long winded reply below. If you just want brand names, Henckles, Wusthoff, F. Dick, Sabatier, and Global are some good ones.
Knives come in two basic types - stamped and forged. A stamped knife is cut from a strip of stainless steel, kind of like using a cookie cutter on a strip of dough. The blade will be the same thickness from top to bottom and end to end. Cheap ones use softer steel (so they can use a less expensive cutting tool), while better ones like Victorinox will use better steel. A forged knife is made by taking a much thicker piece of steel (usually stainless, but can also be carbon steel), heating it up until it's almost white hot, then forging it into shape in a mold. The blade will be thicker at the top and will taper towards the tip. Forged knives are better balanced than stamped knives, the metallurgy is different because of the forging process, and stainless steel ones can be heat treated to a higher hardness than a stamped blade. They'll hold an edge longer and won't wear away as quickly when they're sharpened.
Victorinox makes one of the best stamped blade knives, and they're a good, economical choice, especially in commercial kitchens. They don't last as long as a good forged knife, but at a price that is typically 1/2 - 1/4 they can be replaced for much less money.
Some good manufacturers of forged knifes are Henkels, Wusthoff, Sabatier (they also make good carbon steel knives), F. Dick, and Global. My personal favorite are F. Dick, but I haven't found anyone who sells them here. All of these knives will last a long time and are high quality, but their shape is slightly different. Some are deeper, or have a somewhat more rounded front portion, or are balanced a little differently. All of these are personal preferences, so my suggestion is to go hold some and see which one feels best in your hand.
Also, buy a steel
