Overwhelmed - which on-line brokerage?

*** I think I answered my own question now that I have spent a couple of hours playing with TOS.***

Hi all,

I am finally ready to get back into the market after cashing out in 2008 and am overwhelmed by the number of on-line brokers available.

I intend to be an active trader, not a buy and hold investor. I will NOT be day trading. I have some experience with Merrill Lynch (prior to 1996) and I have not made my own trades since about 2000 (had an e*trade account). I was using a broker through 2008. My former broker has become a stalker of late and I was on the hunt for a new broker, when I came across this forum. I also had several recommendations from friends to just use an on-line broker and to make my own trades.

I have a fidelity.com account (funded but have not made any trades) and am wondering which brokerage offers the best service, research and pricing (if that is 1 brokerage company). I went with fidelity because they allow extended hours trading (not that I would ever trade during extended hours) but it seemed like a good option to have if needed (i.e., to get in on a new IPO before market hours).

I am willing to research in one place and trade in another if there are brokerage sites with great research but not so great execution.

The on-line services that I have found, and would love to read recommendations for/against are:

E*TRADE
eOption
Fidelity
Firstrade
Interactive Brokers
Merrill Edge
Options House
optionsXpress
Schwab
Scottrade
ShareBuilder
SogoTrade
TD Ameritrade
thin****wim
TradeKing
Vanguard
WellsTrade
Zecco

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I really like TDA and recommend them.
__________________
Disclaimer: Any stocks I comment on are my opinion only. Play the stock market at your own risk!
FAVS: VRNG WHZ NOG BP
SMC - THE BEST STOCK MARKET FORUM
"A government big enough to give you everything you need, is big enough to take everything you have." - Thomas Jefferson
Expanding Government is America's Biggest Threat!

Good day, I would recommend E-Trade for simplicity, Schawb for tools and interactive brokers for spreads and breadth of financial instruments. Also, read their TOS to get a better understanding of how their system works.

Thin****wim is pretty good and they are offering a solid platform. You might be able to negotiate your commission as well if you are willing to bring in a certain amount of money.