Devoted to understanding the basics and fundamentals of investing

There are so many websites that claim to have the best of stock research tools, but which sites are really useful for you the investor? I decided to make a list of some of my favorite stock research sites to give you somewhere to start.

1. Yahoo Finance- This site is terrific for getting a quick stock quote, or going deep into a company's financial statements. The site has a great page of key statistics of the company, and has good industry comparison pages as well. Definitely the leading basic stock research site for myself.

2. Morningstar- Though Morningstar is even more well-known for their mutual fund research, they do have some good information on individual stocks as well. A large amount of the best information is available only to paying members, but you can get a two week free trial to try the information. The company also offers some pretty good research with a good history of key ratios and historical valuation information as a free member. There is also a good stock screener that you should utilize.

3. TheStreet- Thestreet.com is a very interesting website with some tremendous commentary that can give you some good stock ideas. I like to read some of the articles there and then check out the stocks for myself using some financial ratio analysis and valuation techniques from Yahoo Finance or Morningstar.

4. Schaeffer's Research- Bernie Schaeffer is the head of Schaeffer's Research and the company has quite an impressive website. The most interesting thing about the site is the information is very unique from other investment research sites. The site has some great information on popular stock screens, put/call ratios for options, and numerous technical indicators. This site is geared more toward the advanced investor, but it has some great information.

5. Zack's-A well-known research shop with a pretty good website. The site does a good job of keeping track of brokerage analysts latest estimates and notes, and has some interesting blogs with investment ideas that are updated regularly. The site also has the premium research services with special portfolio tips and premium investment reports.

These five sites give you a good starting point to research your stock picks. What other sites do you believe belong on this list?