Spice Blends
You may also want to stock you pantry with some pre-blended spices. These combinations can provide a handy, economical shortcut, especially if you're new to spice and don't want to take the time to get to know the herbs personally. Some must-haves:

Curry
Yep, curry is not a spice, it's a spice blend, and usually includes such savory goodies as cumin, mustard, coriander, ginger, cayenne, and the little-known fenugreek. You'll need it if you're actually making a curry, or simply adding an exotic edge to your chicken salad sandwich.

Chili Powder
With chili powder and ground beef, you're just a hop, skip and a jump from tacos. This blend typically combines chili, cumin, oregano, salt and other savories. One shake and you're south of the border.

Italian Blend
Frankly, if you've got basil, you've got Italian cooking covered, but a blend is good to have on hand as well. Generally, it consists of a variety of herbs such as basil, thyme, oregano in crumbled leaf form. A good blend can take your bottled pasta sauce from blah to bravo.

So blends have their place. But please, for the love of all that is holy, do not purchase the pathetically named "pumpkin pie spice." You should have all the spices included on hand anyway (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger), so why waste money and space?