I think so much will depend on what sort of cooker you are planning to use your new pan(s) with. We have a ceramic hob and induction hob, so we need flat-bottomed pans that are unlikely to scratch the ceramic hob if accidentally slid (and of course the pans for the induction hob need a steel base); we use mainly non-stick, but that means we must use teflon or wooden tools. If, on the other hand, we were using a gas range, we would use a round-bottomed carbon-steel Chinese wok, and could then use stainless steel implements in it with impunity.
Incidentally, my preferred pan for use on the ceramic hob is a flat-bottomed, wok-like, Tefal(R) pan with Durabase(R) Technology base and Thermo-Spot(R) temperature indicator, base diameter 140mm, top diameter 290mm, height 75mm, purchased from Macro.
** Phil.