What you'll find below is an ever-expanding collection of websites. A whole lot of them are going to be suppliers of various things. Part of being knowledgeable about our craft is just know what's out there. The more items you have cataloged away - either as bookmarks or in your binder or in your head - the more readily you'll be able to solve the various problems that might come your way. Below there are also some tutorial sites, some community sites, and other places devoted to sharing knowledge. Good stuff to browse through. Let us know if you have sites to add.

Tools
toolsforstagecraft.com Something like 30 varieties of flashlights. Even more knives and multitools. Books. Rigging. Safety. Electrics tools and testers. All kinds of stuff to ask for when it comes time for Christmas, Birthdays, Graduation, Half Birthdays, Wednesdays, etc.
 
roadietools.com All kinds of good stuff here, too. Just about every kind of tester you could ever need.. Check out the lightspeed wrench, too.
 
harborfreight.com You can never, ever have enough tools. And you can never get them cheap enough. But if you know about Harbor Freight, you can get a start on both. Some cheap crap, so beware. But mostly good deals.
 
northerntool.com A slightly higher quality tool store. Also lots of other good stuff like motors, hydraulics, pneumatics, and things to put stuff together.
 
setwear.com The best glooves, belts, and patches for our craft. Bar none. I sure with I could afford some.
 
deluthtrading.com The other best gloves and toolbelts in the world. Get your mommy to pay for them - that's what I did.
 
homedepot.com and lowes.com - These should be obvious, but they have some how-tos and some tools and things that are usefull. Also good for tools and materials, of course.

Parts
smallparts.com Sometimes you just have to rig up cool little things. With parts from this website, you can make magic happen.
 
allelectronics.com Electronic parts like relays, LEDs, motion detectors, motors, and other things to make magic.
 
emachineshop.com Sometimes when you're making things, you have to make your own parts. But sometimes you don't have easy access to a full range of computer-controlled fabrication tools, knowledgeable people to operate them, and easy-to-use software to design them. Oh, wait. Yes you do. Emachineshop might be the coolest thing ever.
 
bpesolutions.com Lots of things you'd need for animatronics and stage machinery, including DMX and serial interfaces, RF remote control systems, servomotors, and other electronic parts. Products here are, for the most part, too expensive. Use the website as a starting point, then research more affordable suppliers.
 
herbach.com Very awesome prices on very awesome mechanical parts. Pneumatics, relays and switches, motorized wheels, things like that.

Materials and Consumables
rosebrand.com The fabrics superstore. Scrim and velour and star drops, oh my.
 
rosco.com Famous for their gels, and also for their projection screen materials.
 
texasscenic.com A distributor of all things theatrical, from gaf tape to software.

Technology
dmx512-online.com Everything you ever wanted to know about our favorite lighting protocal.
 
etcconnect.com Makers of the Obsession light board. Also the Revolution and the Source Four. You can download manuals and things here.
 
highend.com Makers of the Studio Spot, Beam, and other automated instruments -- as well as the Hog board. Again, you can download product manuals. And check out the Catalys.
 
martin.com Another superpower in automated lighting. If wiggles are your thing, you need to know the Martin product line, too.
 
leprecon.com A slightly lower-end console. You'll find these in lots of smaller theatres, cabarets, and in LOTS of school auditoriums. Worth being familiar with if you plan on being a lighting programmer.
 
prosoundweb.com If you want to learn about sound, you want to go to this website.