I’ve used most of the plugins at one time or another, and it’s a pretty good list for the most part. One thing I would probably change is swapping out CafePress for Spreadshirt, but that’s just personal preference really.

It’s got free plugins, it’s got pricey plugins, it’s got plugins that do things for just about every situation. It’s a damn fine list, and comes complete with full descriptions, and an occasional usage tip.

Here’s a small preview…

Breadcrumb Navigation XT
Adds a breadcrumb navigation showing the visitor’s path to his or her current location. I’m a huge fan of breadcrumbs (for both usability and SEO benefits) and highly recommend you implement this.

Force Word Wrapping
Prevents long words and URLs from horizontally stretching the page. Doesn’t it annoy you when a long URL messes up your template? This plugin prevents that from happening.

No Self Pings
Keeps WordPress from sending pings to your own site. This is pretty self explanatory. Why send pingbacks to your own posts?

At 41 plugins, with descriptions, it’s a bit of a read, but it’s well worth if you’re looking for a plugin that comes highly recommended by a successful blogger.

From BuddyPress.org…

I’m happy to announce that version 1.0 of BuddyPress is now available for download.

This release marks over a year of solid development, starting from the roots of the ChickSpeak project, all the way to the blossoming developer community I see interacting on this site everyday.

This is just the first step on a long road ahead. So much is possible now that we have a solid WordPress-based social framework to build upon.

BuddyPress includes features such as extended profiles, private messaging, friends lists, groups, activity streams, blog tracking, and a pile more.

If you’re looking to add some social media features or your WordPress MU installation, BuddyPress looks like an interesting way to do it.

The newest release includes some obvious improvements over the previously neglected version uno and some major upgrades courtesy of Chris Bavota from tinkerpriestmedia.com. If you are currently using comment-relish and have not upgraded to Wordpress 2.7 because of its hectic and horrible reaction to the new code, have no worries – you can now! However, if you are running Wordpress 2.7 and you are upset that it was sending duplicate comments, endless comments to every commentor, or just flat-out broken – we fixed that too!

I am a huge fan of this plugin, and am going to be trying out version 2.0 as soon as I can.

WP OptIn is a Wordpress plugin that allows your commenters to subscribe to your email newsletter or auto-responder simply by checking a box automatically placed in your comment forms. The plugin integrates with Aweber, ConstantContact, or MailChimp to subscribe commenters without an extra subscription step.

A paid WordPress plugin, WP OptIn is $29, but for the affiliate marketing guru looking to expand their e-mail subscription list, this could be a fast, and effective way to do so. If you are interested, check out the dedicated site they have for the plugin at WPOptin.com.

Real Simple Syndication (RSS) enables site owners to automatically syndicate their content to readers in an easily digestible format. There are a number of WordPress (WordPress reviews) plugins to help you manage your blog’s RSS feed, track subscribers, and much more.

Unfortunately the post doesn’t delve into which ones are worth using for the average WordPress user, so if you have a preference for a few of the plugins listed, please let me know in the comments below.

For $40 USD, you can purchase the plugin which will allow you to make quizzes inside your WordPress administration panel.

You don’t need to use an external service to put quizzes in your blog, and while I don’t the online quiz marketplace very well, I can understand how marketing experts might want to use this to bump up page views, or otherwise collect information.

A very interesting plugin, only available on WickedFire currently.

Better Search will provide contextually search your WordPress blogs and then list the results based on relevance. By using a template file you can completely control the look and feel of the search results page.

Additionally, the plugin will track the searches and allow you present a “search heatmap” of the most popular searches.

Looks like a great start to a plugin that could really make great changes to the search results that WordPress.

Some like Akismet, are essential, but you don’t have to really seek them out as they are included with every WordPress installation, and others like Custom More Link, aren’t what I’d call “essential” in the slightest.

Check out the list, and let me know your thoughts. Did they forget something truly essential? Should they have listed some plugins that compete or duplicate some of the features to provide for choice? Have your say in the comments below.

Billboard allows you to make lists in your sidebar of various data, very easily. Controlling advertisements, image lists, and more.

Billboard is is a WordPress plugin that allows you to easily add images — like ads, photos, icons — to your widget-ready sidebars.

You can purchase Billboard for $39.95, or gain access to it through the WordPress Theme Club. If nothing else, you should check out Billboard’s cool video, showing how easy it is to use.