You can get away with nothing more than a flashlight and a good multitool for a lot of things.

For a home setup, I'd start with a flashlight, hammer, screwdrivers and pliers -- slip-joint and longnose both. I think of duct tape as being less of a tool and more of a life essential.

After those minimal basics, a pipe wrench, a crescent wrench, lineman's pliers, and a socket set are super-handy. Big pliers, small needlenose pliers, and more screwdrivers round out the hand tools I use most commonly. A small pry bar can be worth its weight in gold, I'm particularly fond of the 15" Vaughan.

If you're going to buy any power tools at all, buy a high-quality cordless screwdriver with an extra battery; the setup should allow you to charge one battery while working with another. Some of the cordless tool sets out there are very good. A cordless recipro-saw is more useful than a cordless jigsaw. I have a cordless circular saw but usually I'm using the heavy-duty corded model when I need a circular saw. Don't wait to charge and maintain your cordless tool batteries -- get that done before you need to use them. If you can standardize on a single type of cordless battery, you'll be glad you did.

What I've found is that if I know how to do something and I don't have the tools, that's when it's time to go tool shopping. If you don't even know what tools to use, that usually means it's a good time to hire someone who does.